Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has urged Ghana national football team head coach Otto Addo to avoid introducing unfamiliar faces into his final squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
After Ghana secured qualification for the global showpiece, a number of Ghanaian-born players in the diaspora have reportedly shown interest in switching allegiance to represent the West African nation.
With the tournament approaching, calls have intensified for England-born forwards Callum Hudson-Odoi and Eddie Nketiah to be considered for the final squad for the competition, which will be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
However, Kingston—currently head coach of the Uganda national under-20 football team and other junior national sides—believes the Black Stars coach should stick with players he already knows to prevent unnecessary disruption.
“To avoid distractions, it will be very good to maintain players that the coach already knows rather than bring in new players so close to a major tournament,” he told Graphic Sports.
He stressed that team selection should be based on trust and familiarity rather than sentiment.
“Fielding players that you don’t know tends to be torture because you are not sure what the player can do, and the player may also not know what you expect from him,” he said.
“So it’s very tough. Yes, they are Ghanaians, but we have to look at their contributions to the qualification. It’s always good to have a group of players that you believe in, monitor their progress, ensure they are getting minutes at their clubs and hitting top form when they come into the national team,” Kingston added.
Ghana, making their fifth appearance at the World Cup, have been drawn in Group L alongside Panama national football team, England national football team and Croatia national football team. The Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 before facing England on June 23 and Croatia on June 27.
As part of their preparations, the team is expected to regroup in March for friendly matches against the Austria national football team and Germany national football team, followed by another fixture against the Mexico national football team in May. The squad will be based at Bryant University in the United States during the tournament.
After early exits at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Black Stars will be hoping for a more impressive run when the competition returns to North America.
