Black Stars captain Jordan Ayew has expressed strong belief in Ghana’s chances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the team has the quality to “surprise people” at the tournament in North America.
The experienced forward made the remarks ahead of Ghana’s international friendly against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium, with kick-off set for 18:45 GMT.
The match forms part of the team’s final stages of preparation for the World Cup and also marks the first test for head coach Carlos Queiroz since his appointment.
Ayew struck an optimistic tone about the squad’s mindset and ambition as Ghana sharpen their plans for the global stage.
“We just want to go there and put on a show and represent Africa and Ghana the best that we can,” the 35-year-old said.
“I’m confident that with the manager’s ideas and the boys’ commitment, I’m sure we will surprise people,” he added.
Ghana will be making their fifth appearance at the World Cup, with the Black Stars hoping to move beyond the group stage for the first time since their memorable run to the quarter-finals in 2010. The team has suffered back-to-back group-stage exits in 2014 and 2022.
The build-up continues after the Wales fixture, with another friendly scheduled against Jamaica on June 10 as Queiroz fine-tunes his squad.
At the tournament, Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside Panama, England and Croatia. They begin their campaign against Panama on June 17 at BMO Field, before facing England six days later and concluding their group fixtures against Croatia on June 27.
