Former Ghana international Augustine Ahinful believes the Black Stars have what it takes to make a strong impact at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the team should not be written off ahead of the tournament.

Speaking on GhanaWeb’s Sports Check with Frank-Kamal Acheampong, Ahinful pointed to Ghana’s history on the global stage as evidence that the team can exceed expectations once again.

“We can even do more. The first World Cup that Ghana participated in, most Ghanaians never gave Ghana the chance of going through the first round because we had played a bad AFCON preceding the World Cup. But we went to Germany, we played well and went to the second round. 2010 was a step ahead to the quarter-finals,” he said.

Looking ahead to the 2026 tournament, Ahinful urged belief despite growing public doubt about the current squad’s chances.

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“I think a lot of Ghanaians have written this team off. I only hope we can go out there, first game against Panama, we put up a good show,” he added.

He was particularly confident about Ghana’s high-profile group fixture against England, insisting the Black Stars can trouble one of Europe’s strongest sides.

“The England match, my hopes are very high because I strongly believe that we can harm them and then we look at the Croatia match when we get there,” he stated.

Ahinful, however, added that success will depend heavily on preparation and leadership off the pitch, calling on all stakeholders to play their part.

“We can do it, but it’s up to the technical team, supporting staff, the FA, those who have been trusted to run the team, to put strategies in place to be able to propel us to get us to where we want to be,” he said.

Ghana will be hoping to improve on their past World Cup performances, with memories of their quarter-final run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup still standing as their best achievement.

Watch the full interview below:



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