November 13, 2023 is the date the Black Stars will commence their journey of qualifying for the World Cup in 2026, which will be held in three countries – the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada.
Ghana’s Black Stars are in Group I, paired with Mali, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Chad, and Comoros -who kicked Ghana out of the last AFCON in Cameroon.
🚨Ghana have been paired with Mali, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad in Group I of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Africa qualifying matches will take place over ten Matchdays during the next two years: commencing 13-21 November 2023.#BlackStars pic.twitter.com/mDjEIRay5T
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) July 13, 2023
Reacting to the draw Samuel Inkoom, who is a former player for the Black Stars, played against Mali in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers back in 2009 under Milovan Rajevac, with the team breezing past the Malians in two legs to book a place at the tournament in South Africa.
Inkoom, who now plies his trade with Accra Hearts of Oak in the Ghana Premier League has been speaking to Citi Sports in an exclusive interview on what he makes of the group.
He further cautioned the team not to underrate any opponent in the group.
“I think to be honest, someone will just say this [a] group Ghana can qualify [from] without any stress, but I have to be honest with you, football has evolved in such a way that you can’t even predict who will qualify out of the group.”
“You just have to prepare and prepare adequately towards these kinds of group opponents. The group winner qualifies for the World Cup, and I know it is not going to be easy.”
“I will not say Mali is the biggest opponent, because we have to respect everybody in the group. I played against Mali and they had a very strong team [back then]. They are still a difficult side to play against.”
“They have good players playing in Europe, it is not going to be easy for Ghana.”
The Black Stars have a good record against the Malians. In all meetings, Ghana has won four out of the nine clashes, while the Malians have also claimed three victories, with the other two ending in a draw.
The last time the two sides met was in a friendly encounter on October 9, 2020, under former head coach, Charles Kwabla Akonnor, which ended in a 3-0 loss for Ghana.
The Black Stars also have some recent history with the other group opponents as well, with both Madagascar and the Central African Republic in Ghana’s group in the ongoing 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
