Ghana's 28-Man Squad for World Cup Preparation

Carlos Queiroz has drawn his World Cup battle lines.

The Black Stars head coach has named a 28-man squad for Ghana’s preparation camp and the high-profile friendly against Wales in Cardiff, a first serious look at the group he hopes will carry the country through the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Cardiff as the Launchpad

Camp opened on Monday, May 25, 2026, with the squad gathering in Cardiff and heading straight to work at Dragon Park. The friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, is more than a tune-up. It is the first audition for places on the plane to North America.

Queiroz has gone with balance across the pitch: five goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders, and seven forwards. The numbers tell one story. The names tell another.

Big Returns at the Back

The headline comeback belongs to Baba Abdul Rahman. The Greece-based left back, who last featured for Ghana in September 2023, forces his way back into the picture on the strength of a consistent season with PAOK. Thirty-five appearances, three goals, three assists – the kind of steady production that is hard to ignore at international level.

On the opposite side of the defensive story is resilience. Abdul Mumin of Rayo Vallecano returns after a long spell out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. So does Stade Rennes defender Alidu Seidu, another familiar face restored to a defensive unit that will need depth and steel for a World Cup campaign that stretches across a continent.

Saint-Étienne midfielder Augustine Boakye also re-enters the frame, adding another layer of energy and craft between the lines.

Nuamah’s Long Road Back

Higher up the pitch, one name jumps off the sheet: Ernest Nuamah.

The Olympique Lyon winger has been missing from the Black Stars for close to a year, his rise stalled by a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for more than 12 months. Now he is back to full fitness and back in the squad, a potential game-changer if he rediscovers his sharpness in time.

For Queiroz, Nuamah’s return offers something different in the wide areas – direct running, end product, and the kind of one-v-one threat that unsettles tournament defenses.

A Glimpse of the Future

There is also a nod to the next generation. Ajax Amsterdam youngster Paul Reverson has been handed a call-up, not as a token gesture, but for “further assessment with a long-term view.” At 20, and coming off impressive performances for Ajax’s youth side in the Netherlands, he steps into a senior environment where every training session is an exam.

His inclusion underlines the dual purpose of this camp: sharpen the present, protect the future.

World Cup Road Map

All of it builds toward a demanding World Cup schedule. Ghana open their Group L campaign against Panama in Toronto, a match they will be expected to control. Then the temperature rises.

England await in Boston. Croatia follow in Philadelphia. Two hardened tournament sides, two stern tests of Ghana’s tactical discipline and mental resilience.

For now, the work starts in Cardiff. Systems will be tested, partnerships will be formed, and some players will play their way into – or out of – Queiroz’s final plans.

The names are on the list. The real selection begins on the pitch.