2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Ghana to know group opponent on July 13

The Black Stars of Ghana will know their group opponents for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, July 13 when the draw is held in Ivory Coast.

The Black Stars face a challenging path to secure a spot at the next World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The qualification format which has been established by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will involve a total of nine groups of six teams in each group.

The top nine teams who will emerge from each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The four best second-placed teams from the groups will engage in playoffs. The winner of this playoff will then compete against a team from the CONCACAF zone for a chance to secure the tenth and final spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The best-ranked teams in Africa were seeded in Pot A and it includes; Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt and Ivory Coast.

Ghana, unfortunately, missed out on Pot A, meaning the country could possibly be placed in the same group as Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, and Ivory Coast.

The Black Stars were placed in Pot B alongside, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

The qualifiers are scheduled to take place over a two-year period, from November 2023 to November 2025.

The first and second matchdays are set for November 2023, followed by the third and fourth matchdays in June 2024.

Matches will continue from the fifth to the tenth matchday throughout 2025.

The Black Stars have qualified for four out of the last five World Cups and will be aiming to make their fifth appearance.

Below are the Pots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Pot 1: Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, Ivory Coast

Pot 2: Ghana, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

Pot 3: Angola, Benin, Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Uganda, Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, Namibia

Pot 4: Mozambique, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya

Pot 5: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia

Pot 6: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, Sao Tome, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia

JNA/KPE