Kofi Adams: Ghana must always aim to go far at the World Cup

Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, says the Black Stars are aiming to progress beyond the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and compete strongly against the best teams in the world.

Speaking on SoccerChat, Adams explained that the appointment of new coach Carlos Queiroz was made with the ambition of helping Ghana make a major impact at the tournament in North America.

According to the minister, Ghana’s objective goes beyond simply qualifying for the competition.

“We have already qualified for the group stage of the World Cup, so that is not why we are hiring the new coach. We’re hiring the coach because we want to go very far,” he said.

Ghana will open their World Cup campaign against Panama at BMO Field in Toronto on June 17 before facing England at Boston Stadium on June 23.

The Black Stars will then conclude the group stage against Croatia at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on June 27 as they chase a place in the knockout stage.

Adams added that Ghana should always aim to advance from the first round whenever the country qualifies for the World Cup.

“For a World Cup, Ghana should not be doing anything below the next round after the group stage. In the case of this particular World Cup, the round of 32,” he stated.

The 2026 tournament will mark Ghana’s fifth World Cup appearance. Their best performance came in 2010 when they reached the quarterfinals in South Africa.

Ghana advanced from the group stage in their first two appearances in 2006 and 2010, but failed to progress in both 2014 and 2022.