June 10, 2026
Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo (22) tries to hold off Mexico defender Jorge Sanchez (19) during international competition. Semenyo leads Ghana's attack.
The World Cup is about to take over stadiums across North America and Philadelphia and for some, it's the sporting experience of a lifetime. For other more casual sports fans, and for many four-for-four Philly fans, it's hard to really unpack what's about to happen.
Over the course of around six weeks, the stadium typically called Lincoln Financial Field will host six games, five group stage matches and one knockout game boasting teams from nine different countries.
It's time for a crash course.
We'll help introduce you to each of the national squads competing in Philly in June and July, continuing with Ghana, a western African nation that seeks to become the first African team to win the World Cup. Ghana's best World Cup finish is the quarterfinal round.
Can Ghana pull off the major upset?
Some things to know about Ghana:
Ghana is one of Africa's best national teams. This is the fifth time in the nation's history that the "Black Stars" – named after the Black Star of Africa in the country's flag – have qualified for the Cup, with its best finish coming in 2010, a quarterfinal loss to Uruguay. Ghana has won the African Cup of Nations four times while finishing runner-up five times.
Ghana's athleticism and tenacity are the team's calling card. Its goal is to push the ball at breakneck speed and produce a truckload of scoring chances. Ghana likes to create chaos around the middle of the field to force turnovers with physical play, and hope the suffocating style can take some pressure off its inexperienced goalkeeping.
Its Portuguese coach, Carlos Queiroz, was hired this past April. Queiroz has plenty of World Cup coaching experience (with Portugal, Iran, Colombia, Egypt, and Qatar among other countries) along with coaching Manchester United and Real Madrid, but he has never won a Cup.
Ghana vs. Croatia will be a clash of completely different identities, as Croatia aims to work at a more deliberate, controlled pace while Ghana likes to push the pedal to the floor.
• Antoine Semenyo: The London-born midfielder and Manchester City standout will be the central component of the Ghana attack. He comes off a productive season in the Premier League.
• Thomas Partey: The veteran midfielder, who now plays for Villarreal of La Liga, is known for controlling pace by being technically sound and winning his battles in the middle of the pitch. He's also entrenched in a legal controversy as he's awaiting trial in London for several charges of rape and sexual assault, for which he has pleaded not guilty.
• Iñaki Williams: Captain of his La Liga club (Athletic Bilbao), Williams plays at a top-end speed that makes him difficult to defend. The striker is one of the fastest soccer players on the planet.
• In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from British colonization.
• More than 100 different native languages are spoken in Ghana, although English is its official language.
• Ghana is home to Lake Volta, the largest human-made reservoir in the world based on surface area.
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