'Focus on Panama, not England or Croatia' – Agyemang-Badu's World Cup advice

Black StarsFormer Black Stars midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has urged the Ghanaian team to direct all their attention to their opening 2026 World Cup match against Panama, warning against early distractions from more high-profile opponents.Speaking ahead of the tournament, Agyemang-Badu set a clear priority for the team's mindset.The Panama match will be challenging, and thats where our full concentration should be, not on England or Croatia, he stated, emphasising the critical importance of starting the campaign on the right foot.While acknowledging that Ghana's primary goal is to advance from the group stage, Agyemang-Badu stressed that achieving this depends entirely on a focused and disciplined approach to the first game.He also issued a firm warning regarding squad selection, insisting that only players at peak fitness should be considered for the demanding tournament across three host nations.His comments reflect a pragmatic strategy for the Black Stars, framing the match against Panama not just as another fixture, but as the decisive first step that will define their entire World Cup journey.