John Paintsil Reacts to Ghana’s 2026 WC Qualifying Group : Former Ghana international defender John Paintsil has warned the Black Stars of Ghana following the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification draw on Thursday.

Ghana compete against Mali , Madagascar , Comoros , Central African Republic and Chad for an automatic qualification to the tournament finals to be hosted , for the first time ever , by three different countries namely Canada , USA and Mexico.

Many believe Chris Hughton and the Ghana national men’s team have been handed a favorable draw but the former Fulham right-back is wary of Mali.

“It’s not a difficult group but a tricky one. We have Mali, Madagascar, CAR and Comoros, which they have a history with us. Comoros believe their history against us at the Nations Cup still there”

“Countries paired against Ghana in the group have upper hand because they have nothing to lose playing us. If we beat them is no use but if they beat us it’s a big news and that tells you it’s a tricky group. Mali is the most stubborn football country in Africa because they can upset you anytime” he said as seen on Footballghana.com.

Meanwhile reacting to the draw which wad done yesterday in Abidjan , legendary African striker Asamoah Gyan , who was part of the draw conductors , commented :

“I think since 2006 when we qualified for the first time to 2022 we have been very consistent…..2026 is not going to be easy but we will try our best to make sure we qualify”.

Since their maiden World Cup appearance , Ghana only missed the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as they bounced back to make it to Qatar 2022 and Andre Ayew , Jordan Ayew , Thomas Partey , Mohammed Kudus and co will be expecting to take the team to the next edition in 2026.

See the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Groupings :

Group A – Egypt , Burkina Faso , Guinea-Bissau , Sierra Leone , Ethiopia , Djibouti

Group B – Senegal , DR Congo , Mauritania , Togo , Sudan , South Sudan

Group C – Nigeria , South Africa , Benin , Zimbabwe , Rwanda , Lesotho

Group D – Cameroon , Cape-Verde , Angola , Libya , Eswatini , Mauritius

Group E – Morocco , Zambia , Congo , Tanzania , Niger , Eritrea

Group F – Cote d’Ivoire , Gabon , Kenya , Gambia , Burundi , Seychelles

Group G – Algeria , Guinea , Uganda , Mozambique , Botswana , Somalia

Group H – Tunisia , Equatorial Guinea , Namibia , Malawi , Liberia , Sao Tome and Principe

Group I – Mali , Ghana , Madagascar , Central African Republic , Comoros , Chad

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