The debate around Ghana’s Black Stars with regard to who gets selected into the team has become a sentiment that’s been bubbling up among fans, especially as the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers wrapped up on a high note.
Ghana has officially snatched its ticket to the tournament but the real talk is about reinforcements: who should join the fray to chase glory in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada, and who definitely shouldn’t. Who are these? England-born with Ghanaian descent, Eddie Nketiah and Cullum Hudson Odoi
In 2022, when Ghana qualified for the Qatar World Cup, the Ghana Football Association approached these two players to convince them to switch their nationality to represent their ancestoral land. They declined with the hope of getting the opportunity to play for the Three Lions of England
After Ghana secured their qualification to the next year’s Mundial, astute journalist, Saddick Adams has revealed that, Edward Nketiah’s family has revealed to him that, the 26-year-old Crystal Palace striker is open to switching his nationality now. We are yet to hear from the camp of Cullum Hudson Odoi though.
It’s welcoming news, but, I think we shouldn’t entertain him now, until after the World Cup, because I find it opportunistic behavior and unfair to the players who sacrificed to get Ghana to the tournament.
However, from now till the tournament is quite long and injuries and loss of form are a major possibility, so it will be unwise to completely shut the door on any player.
The conditions must be clear, he shouldn’t wade into the squad but earn his spot through effort, merit, and prove himself.
Currently,Ghana has quite a good number of strikers, Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo, Inaki Williams, and Thomas Asante, so Edward Nketiah should battle for his spot.
There are a lot of decisions and clarity that are expected from the Minister of Sports and the Ghana FA in the coming days if not months.
