The Black Stars are gearing up for the 2026 World Cup, and former midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang Badu believes the upcoming friendly matches will be crucial for the team’s preparation.
“The friendly matches will provide opportunities to the new players to adapt to the system of the national team,” Badu said on Citi Sports.
Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars, have four friendly matches scheduled ahead of the World Cup.
They’ll face Austria on March 27 in Vienna, followed by Germany on March 30 in Stuttgart. In May, they’ll take on Mexico, and their final warm-up match will be against Wales on June 2 in Cardiff.
These friendlies are expected to give coach Otto Addo and his team a chance to test their tactics, assess squad depth, and simulate World Cup conditions against top-tier opponents.
“This is an amazing opportunity for us to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world,” Addo previously said about the Germany match.
The Black Stars have been drawn in Group L, alongside Panama, England, and Croatia.
They’ll kick off their campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto, followed by matches against England on June 23 and Croatia on June 27.
The 2026 World Cup marks Ghana’s 5th appearance on the World stage after featuring in 2006, where they reached the last 16, 2010 (where they reached the quarter-finals), 2014 (where they were ousted in the group stage), and 2022 (where they finished bottom of tveir group).
Agyemang-Badu has been a part of so.e ex players and football administrators who have been speaking on Ghana’s preparations.
Former Ghana Football Association Vice President, George Afriyie, has also expressed optimism about the team’s chances.
“I expect us to beat Panama. The first match is very important and, among our group opponents, trust me, our best bet is against Panama,” he told Graphic Sports
Otto Addo is expected to name his squad in the coming days in anticipation of the clashes.
