Former Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes Ghana possess the quality and unpredictability needed to trouble both England and Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite the Black Stars being placed in one of the tournament’s most demanding groups.
The highly anticipated global competition got underway on June 11, with Ghana preparing to begin their campaign against Panama in what will be the country’s fifth appearance on football’s biggest stage.
Having secured qualification for the expanded tournament hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Black Stars find themselves in a challenging Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama. Ghana will first lock horns with Panama before facing the two European heavyweights in successive fixtures.
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Ibrahimovic, who remains one of football’s most outspoken and respected figures, expects England and Croatia to be the favourites to progress but warned that Ghana have the talent to disrupt the group dynamics.
“I’m supporting Croatia in this tournament. We have Ghana, a side blessed with immense talent, so it will be interesting to see what they can bring to the competition. We also have Panama, but unfortunately, this is a very tough group for them. I believe England and Croatia will battle for top spot, but Ghana might disturb England and Croatia and take some points. I don’t mean any disrespect to Panama, but this group will be a challenging one for them to pick up points in,” he said, as quoted by Ghanasoccernet.com.
Meanwhile, Ghana have completed the latest stage of their World Cup preparations after arriving in Providence, Rhode Island, following a successful training camp in the Washington metropolitan area.
The team departed Virginia on Thursday and landed at T.F. Green International Airport in the evening, wrapping up a week of intensive work as they shift their focus to the tournament proper.
Bryant University in Smithfield will serve as Ghana’s official base camp, providing the squad with top-class facilities as they fine-tune their preparations. The Black Stars are scheduled to travel to Toronto on June 15 ahead of their opening Group L encounter against Panama at BMO Field two days later.
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Led by a determination to make a significant impact, Ghana enter the tournament aiming to reach the knockout stages for the first time since their historic run at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Black Stars have previously featured at the World Cup in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022, with their greatest achievement coming sixteen years ago when they advanced to the quarter-finals and came within touching distance of becoming the first African nation to reach the last four.
