2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Ghana v Central African Republic Preview

The Black Stars of Ghana are set to face the Central African Republic in the fourth matchday of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Monday.

Following a shaky start to the qualifiers, the Black Stars achieved a crucial victory against Mali in Bamako last weekend. In that match, Ernest Nuamah and Jordan Ayew scored in the second half, overturning Kamory Doumbia’s first-half goal.

Coach Otto Addo aims to secure consecutive wins since his reappointment earlier this year. Both teams enter this match with renewed confidence from their recent victories and hope to continue building momentum.

Ghana's victory over Mali brought their total to six points from three matches, placing them third in their group. They are tied on points with group leaders Madagascar and second-placed Comoros.

The Black Stars seek another win against the Central African Republic, a team they have previously drawn with once and beaten once in their two encounters.

Central African Republic earned their first win in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with Venuste Baboula's first-half goal, resulting in a 1-0 victory over Chad. Coach Raoul Savoy's team is currently in fifth place with four points from three matches. Given the close point spread in the group, a win on Monday could propel them ahead of Ghana and closer to the top of the standings.

Les Fauves have been in excellent form recently, remaining unbeaten in four consecutive matches, scoring 12 goals, conceding just one, and keeping three clean sheets.

However, Monday’s game will be their most challenging yet, as they travel to Ghana, where they lost in their only previous visit last September.

In a press conference on Sunday, Otto Addo acknowledged the difficulty of the upcoming match. "It's going to be very difficult. For anyone expecting an easy match, I'm afraid it won't be the case," stated the former Borussia Dortmund coach.

Team News

Inaki Williams, Joseph Paintsil, Majeed Ashimeru, Baba Iddrisu, Nathaniel Adjei, Denis Odoi and Daniel Amartey are all injured and are not with the Ghanaian squad.

Captain Andre Ayew was not invited by Addo, putting his trust in younger players to deliver the goods.

The front three consisting of West Ham's talisman Mohammed Kudus, Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo and Lyon's Nuamah will likely take to the pitch once again.

CAR's record goalscorer, Louis Mafouta, will hope to score his first goal of this World Cup qualifying campaign when he leads the line again.

Baboula has directly contributed to the visitors' last two goals in World Cup qualifying games, and he is a man to watch out for.