England begin their World Cup campaign in a month’s time, but their direct rivals are in a difficult situation heading into the tournament
England manager Thomas Tuchel has been given a pre-World Cup boost (Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
England’s group stage opponents Ghana suffered a huge blow just weeks before the start of the 2026 World Cup. Mohamed Kudus, one of the Black Stars’ most exciting players, will not be playing in the tournament.
Kudus, 25, has scored 13 goals in 46 appearances for Ghana and scored twice for Ghana at the last World Cup. He also scored two goals and provided two assists in this qualifying round, but his injury hasn’t healed enough for him to earn a spot in coach Carlos Queiroz’s squad.
The winger joined Tottenham from West Ham last summer and was a regular for the national team, but has not played since January due to a hamstring injury. He suffered a setback as he neared recovery in the spring, and Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi issued a worrying update in April.
“Kudus is gone after this season,” the Italian said in April. “It’s a shame because, first of all, he’s a good person. He’s supposed to be very important to us, but we lose time talking about the past.”
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His absence will continue into the summer, and although Queiroz has named a 28-man squad for the national team, which will increase to 26 by the time the World Cup begins, there is no place for Kudus. However, there is a spot available for Ernesto Nuama, who returned to his club Lyon in May after a year out due to a torn cruciate ligament.
The Ghanaian group also has interest from the Premier League and EFL. Antoine Semenyo finished second this season in competition with Manchester City and will be joined by Coventry’s Brandon Thomas Asante in the top flight next season, while Leicester’s Jordan Ayew and Abdel Fattau will qualify despite the Foxes being relegated to League One.
Mohamed Kudus has been out of action since January (Image: Getty Images)
Ghana is scheduled to play England in the second group stage match on June 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. They begin their match against Panama in Toronto, before playing Croatia in Philadelphia in the third group game.
Queiroz, a former Real Madrid manager, only took over in April after the sacking of Otto Addo. Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Addo entered his second spell in charge and qualified for the World Cup, but was sacked after two defeats during the March international break.
The African side will have to cut two players when announcing their final squad, but England have already announced their full group of 26 players. Kudus’ Tottenham teammate Jed Spence is in the squad, but there is no place for colleagues Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher, despite both having been called up by manager Thomas Tuchel in the past 12 months.
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