Carlos Queiroz to announce Black Stars 2026 FIFA World Cup squad on June 1

The President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has confirmed that Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz will announce Ghana’s final 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 1.

Okraku made the announcement in a Facebook post following Ghana’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico in an international pre-World Cup friendly played in Puebla.

The Black Stars endured a difficult outing against El Tri, conceding an early goal after a goalkeeping error just two minutes into the game. Guillermo Martínez later added the second goal as Mexico dominated possession and dictated the tempo for most parts of the encounter.

Despite struggling in the first half, Ghana improved after the break and created several scoring opportunities through Joseph Afena-Gyan and Majeed Ashimeru. One of Ghana’s efforts also struck the crossbar, but the Black Stars were unable to find the back of the net as Mexico held on comfortably for the victory.

Following the match, Okraku revealed that the friendly served as an important platform for several young and fringe players ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.

“Objective accomplished! This event has provided significant stage exposure for the majority of our U-23 players, who will soon assemble for the Olympic qualifiers, as well as other players who had limited playing time,” Okraku stated.

“The World Cup squad announcement is scheduled for June 1st. Let’s maintain our collective support for our stars.”

The GFA President further disclosed that many of the players who featured against Mexico are expected to be part of Ghana’s squad for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers.

The Black Stars will now turn their attention to their next pre-World Cup friendly against Wales before the official squad announcement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.