Ghanaian international Antoine Semenyo has expressed strong confidence in the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after enjoying the best season of his career with Manchester City.
The 26-year-old ended the 2025/26 campaign in impressive form after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season.
Semenyo finished the season with an outstanding 27 goal involvements, scoring 21 goals and providing six assists in 48 appearances across all competitions.
Ahead of the Mundial, the forward believes the Black Stars have the quality, mentality and support needed to make a strong impact at the tournament.
“We’ve got the backing of our nation, for one. Obviously, loads of prayers and blessings over the team, but we’ve got a good management staff, we’ve got good background staff, and everyone is just so positive and confident, and that gives us the positivity to go out on the pitch and do what we need to do and win games,” Semenyo told FIFA.
The versatile forward also praised the quality within Ghana’s squad, particularly in attack, while highlighting the unity within the team.
“So, it plays a massive part and definitely goes a long way. I feel like we’ve got a lot of attacking talent and killer instincts. A lot of players who just want to get in positions and shoot and score. Defensively, we’re solid as well. We work together as a team,” he added.
Semenyo also admitted he is excited about facing some of the world’s top teams, especially England, where many of his friends play.
“It will just feel normal. I don’t think I’ll feel anything. I think if anything, I’ll just want to win and prove that we can compete with the top nations,” he said.
“I don’t think it changes anything for me, but I know that playing against my friends, I want to prove my point. I want to show that we are a top nation, we can play together, and we can beat all the top teams,” Semenyo added.
The Black Stars have been drawn in Group L alongside Panama, England and Croatia for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ghana will begin their campaign against Panama on June 17 at BMO Field in Toronto before taking on England on June 23 and Croatia on June 27.
After suffering consecutive group-stage exits in 2014 and 2022, the Black Stars will be hoping to progress beyond the first round and make a stronger impact this time around.
