The Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has revealed that the government expects the Black Stars to reach the knockout stage as a minimum target at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

According to him, Ghana has historically performed well in previous World Cups, reaching the quarter-finals and the Round of 16, earning a strong reputation for the nation.

He emphasised that this standard should be maintained in future tournaments, and therefore expects the Black Stars to advance at least to the Round of 32.

President Mahama has made my work easier - Kofi Adams

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb on Sports Check, Kofi Adams stated that the minimum target for the Black Stars is to progress beyond the group stage.

“If you take a country like Germany, their expectation at a World Cup is always the quarter-finals. Anything below that is considered a failure. We, as a country, are also aiming to set a standard that our best performance should be at least the next round after the group stage. That would be the Round of 32. In the past, it would have been the Round of 16. So we are saying that should be our lowest target.

“Don’t just aim to be counted among the countries that participated. Moving to the next stage should be the minimum. If you exit at the group stage, you haven’t achieved anything. It would mean both the players and the technical team have failed us. We need to go beyond that and reach the knockout stages. That is the minimum standard I am setting for the World Cup,” he said.

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Meanwhile, watch the latest edition of Sports Check with Sports Minister Kofi Adams below: