Former Ghana Football Association vice president George Afriyie has thrown his support behind the potential inclusion of Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi in Ghana’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The two Europe-born players, who previously turned down opportunities to represent the Ghana national football team, are now reportedly open to switching international allegiance to Ghana. Their possible inclusion has generated mixed reactions among supporters and football analysts.
Afriyie believes the Black Stars should remain open to such additions, pointing to Ghana’s historic run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa as a clear example of how late inclusions can positively influence a team’s performance.
During that tournament, Kevin-Prince Boateng joined the squad shortly before the competition and went on to play a crucial role in Ghana’s impressive campaign, which saw them reach the quarter-finals.
“A difficult Kevin-Prince Boateng was even managed, and all the talk that we did well in 2010 when we nearly reached the semi-final was because we had a certain Kevin-Prince Boateng. He played a role,” he told Graphic Sports.
“You may talk about the negatives, but our best performance and best outing as far as the World Cup is concerned was when Boateng was included; that’s a fact,” he added.
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Ghana will head into the 2026 World Cup as one of Africa’s representatives, marking their fifth appearance at the global showpiece.
The Black Stars have been placed in Group L alongside Panama national football team, England national football team, and Croatia national football team.
Ghana will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 before facing England on June 23. Their final group match will come against Croatia on June 27.
In preparation for the tournament, the team is expected to regroup in March for international friendlies against Austria national football team and Germany national football team. A final warm-up fixture against Mexico national football team has also been scheduled for May.
The Ghana Football Association has further confirmed that the Black Stars will set up their tournament base at Bryant University in the United States for the duration of the World Cup.
