{"id":86644,"date":"2023-07-25T17:24:26","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T17:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/07\/25\/2026-world-cupq-mali-not-a-threat-to-black-stars\/"},"modified":"2023-07-25T17:24:26","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T17:24:26","slug":"2026-world-cupq-mali-not-a-threat-to-black-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/07\/25\/2026-world-cupq-mali-not-a-threat-to-black-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 World CupQ: Mali not a threat to Black Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"413\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1679936435_17_Screenshot-2023-03-24-113745-696x413.png\"   alt=\"Black Stars\" title=\"Black Stars\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black Stars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Ghana defender, John Paintsil, says Mali will not be a threat to the Black Stars in the upcoming qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>The four-time African champions are in Group I alongside Mali, Comoros, Chad, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic.<\/p>\n<p>With Mali being tipped to be Ghana\u2019s headache, Paintsil, who played at the 2006 and 2010 Mundial, said Ghana has what it takes to secure a win over the Eagles.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/22191989129,1002554\/MGL\/mgl_ado_atunwa_300x250 --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/paintsils1175174449639315154.jpg\" alt=\"John Paintsil\" class=\"wp-image-1975840\"  \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>John Paintsil<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cCountries paired against Ghana in the group have an upper hand because they have nothing to lose playing us. If we beat them, it\u2019s no use, but if they beat us, it\u2019s big news and that tells you it\u2019s a tricky group,\u201d he told Graphic Sports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMali is the most stubborn football country in Africa because they can upset you anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite recognising the threat of Mali, the former Premier League player said they are no more a strong force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was during 2012 when Mali was in top form,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought they could build on their form but looking at them now, I don\u2019t think they are strong like before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a long way between now and the start of the qualifiers for the World Cup, which is in 2026, but Ghana\u2019s road to the Mundial begins in November 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Ghana will hope to secure its fifth global showpiece qualification.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>            <!--  [embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=videoseries[\/embed]<!--\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>--><\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"NAMe9qTjtXM\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Missing Forestry Guard: Victim found with hands cuffed and legs tied on refuse dump (25-07-23)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NAMe9qTjtXM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Stars Former Ghana defender, John Paintsil, says Mali will not be a threat to the Black Stars in the upcoming qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The four-time African champions are in Group I alongside Mali, Comoros, Chad, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic. With Mali being tipped to be Ghana\u2019s headache, Paintsil, who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>2026 World CupQ: Mali not a threat to Black Stars - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/07\/25\/2026-world-cupq-mali-not-a-threat-to-black-stars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2026 World CupQ: Mali not a threat to Black Stars - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Black Stars Former Ghana defender, John Paintsil, says Mali will not be a threat to the Black Stars in the upcoming qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. 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