Wales vs Ghana: World Cup test awaits Black Stars in Cardiff

Ghana continue their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup when they face Wales in an international friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, with kick-off scheduled for 6:45pm GMT.

The match offers Black Stars coach Carlos Queiroz another chance to assess his squad ahead of the tournament in North America, where Ghana will face Panama, England and Croatia in Group L.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations and the first time Wales have hosted African opposition.

For Ghana, the fixture comes at an important stage of their World Cup preparations. Queiroz is still settling into his role after taking charge in April and has had limited time to work with the full squad.

The Portuguese coach revealed on Monday that the entire group only trained together for the first time on the eve of the match, with several players arriving late after completing club commitments across Europe.

"Let's be realistic. More than 50% of the squad wasn't here with us," Queiroz said.

"They only started arriving because of club games until May 25. They needed rest, three, four, five days depending on minutes and intensity."

Despite the challenges, Queiroz is eager to see his side produce a positive performance in Cardiff.

"We want to play great football, we want to play to win and bring joy to our fans," he said.

"We will try and be the best team on the pitch."

Ghana have also been hit by injuries ahead of the World Cup. Mohammed Kudus has been ruled out of the tournament, while defender Alexander Djiku will also miss out after suffering an injury setback.

Djiku's absence is a major blow given that Mohammed Salisu is also unavailable after sustaining an ACL injury during the season. The pair played every minute of Ghana's matches at the 2022 World Cup and were widely expected to form the backbone of the Black Stars defence once again.

Wales, meanwhile, are using the game as an opportunity to continue building under coach Craig Bellamy despite missing out on qualification for the World Cup.

Bellamy believes the encounter will provide another valuable test for his side.

"They're two very, very different challenges, but challenges that can really help us improve because I see big improvements in the team," Bellamy said.

"We have to improve, I have to improve as a coach."

The hosts will be without Jordan James, Rubin Colwill, Mark Harris and Liam Cullen, although Connor Roberts, Chris Mepham and Ben Davies have returned to the squad.

Jordan Ayew is expected to captain Ghana, while Thomas Partey, Inaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo, Ernest Nuamah and Christopher Bonsu Baah are among the players pushing for starting places.

With the World Cup drawing closer, both teams will be looking for an encouraging performance, but for Ghana the bigger objective is continuing to build chemistry, confidence and momentum ahead of their opening Group L match against Panama on June 17.