2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Why Ghana was not placed in Pot A

The Black Stars of Ghana were not included among the top teams placed in Pot A of the draw for the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Although Ghana played at the last World Cup in Qatar, the participation does not guarantee the country a spot in the top nine teams in Pot A.

According to the rule for the draw, there will be 9 groups with 6 teams in each group for the qualifiers. However, the best nine teams on the African continent would be the first to be drawn into each group.

Per the latest FIFA Ranking, the top nine African teams are Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt and Ivory Coast.

Ghana, unfortunately missed out on Pot A because the country has been ranked 11th in Africa.

The Black Stars' abysmal performance in recent matches resulted in their inability to make it to the best nine-ranked teams on the African continent.

Ghana’s presence in Pot B means the country could possibly be placed in the same group as Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, and Ivory Coast.

This could hamper Ghana’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup because each country will have to top their group to earn automatic qualification to the Mundial.

Should Ghana finish among the best four second-placed teams, the country will join three other African countries to compete in a mini-tournament to earn a late qualification to the tournament as the 10th African country.

JNA/KPE