President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, has confirmed that Ghana’s official World Cup squad will be announced on June 1 following the Black Stars’ 2-0 defeat to Mexico in an international friendly played on Saturday.
Despite the result, Okraku described the exercise as successful, insisting the match achieved its primary objective of exposing emerging players and members of Ghana’s U-23 team to high-level international competition ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.
In a Facebook post after the game, the GFA President wrote: “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.”
He further announced that the Black Stars’ World Cup squad would officially be unveiled on June 1, while calling on supporters to continue backing the national team.
“Let’s maintain our collective support for our stars,” he added.
According to Okraku, the friendly provided an important opportunity to assess players who are not regular members of the senior national team setup.
“This presents a considerable chance for our U-23 squad to gain essential experience because they are not typically involved in matches of such magnitude,” he explained.
The GFA boss also noted that the technical team benefited from the opportunity to closely evaluate several unfamiliar players.
“It offers a substantial opportunity for us to assess players we may previously have known only through reports,” he stated.
Ghana fielded a youthful squad against Mexico, with several fringe and home-based players given the opportunity to impress as preparations continue for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Okraku admitted that assembling a largely inexperienced team within a short period presented challenges but urged fans to focus on the positives from the performance.
“Given the team’s limited time together, integrating the squad effectively will naturally be difficult. Nonetheless, we will focus on the positives from this match. Next stop — Wales,” he posted.
The GFA President also praised the young talents within the squad, describing them as promising players who require patience, development, and long-term support.
“Our focus today is on the talented young players who displayed impressive football qualities — a group of exceptional talents that require collective nurturing to achieve their objectives,” he said.
Ghana will now shift attention to their next international friendly against Wales as preparations intensify ahead of the World Cup and the eagerly anticipated squad announcement next month.
