Ghana’s coach, Chris Hughton, has emphasized that the upcoming international friendlies against Mexico and the United States of America will serve as valuable preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers scheduled for November and the Africa Cup of Nations taking place in January.
The Black Stars are set to face the CONCACAF Gold Cup champions, Mexico, on Saturday, October 14, followed by a match against the United States of America on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. These fixtures are a crucial part of Ghana’s preparation for the upcoming qualifiers and the Cup of Nations.
During a pre-match interview ahead of the game against Mexico, Chris Hughton, the former Brighton and Hove Albion manager, emphasized the significance of these two matches in getting Ghana ready for the forthcoming competitions.
“You plan and hope to build something. We have two games here in USA which I think will be advantageous for us as regards to our preparations going into the two (2026 FIFA) World Cup games and of course, into AFCON,” he told ghanafa.org.
“There are areas of our game that we can improve there is no doubt about that. Perhaps scoring goals early enough in games to take pressure off ourselves is one area we are seriously working on” he added.
Ghana is set to kick off the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers with matches against Madagascar and Comoros on November 13 and 21. Subsequently, their attention will shift to the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire in January.
In the World Cup qualifiers, the Black Stars find themselves in Group B alongside record-holders Egypt and emerging teams Cape Verde and Mozambique.