Ghana has been given an advantageous draw to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The draw took conducted during the 45th Ordinary CAF General Assembly in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with qualifying set to begin in November 2023.
Ghana will take against Mali. The Black Stars were placed in Pot 2, which meant they might have played tougher opponents like Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, or Nigeria; however, they were pitted against Mali, a side aiming to qualify for their first-ever World Cup.
The group also includes Madagascar, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, and Chad. Ghana has previously played Madagascar and the Central African Republic in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
The Black Stars will also be looking for vengeance against Comoros, who upset them 3-2 in Cameroon last year in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana has an impressive World Cup resume, having qualified for four of the previous five editions. Their performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, however, was underwhelming, as they failed to move past the group stage, losing to Portugal and Uruguay while overcoming South Korea.
The Black Stars will be motivated to qualify for the 2026 tournament and will look to amaze Ghanaians as they did in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals in South Africa.

Nine groupings were formed from six teams. The champions of each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup in 2026.
The four best runners-up from each group will compete in a CAF Play-Off competition, with the winner going on to compete in the FIFA Play-Off event.