Ghana captain Jordan says the Black Stars are ready to surprise people at the World Cup, backing the commitment of the squad and the impact of new manager Carlos Queiroz ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday. The former Swansea City and Leicester City forward believes the team is taking shape ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the players are raring to go. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Monday, Ayew was full of praise for new coach Carlos Queiroz and said the players’ commitment and focus will make the difference at the World Cup.
Read on for the full transcript:
On training so far in Wales
Training has been really, really good. The boys are committed, and the manager has come in and done a really, really good job. So, I guess that’s acceptable. His ideas for us have been good and we’ve received them very well and are implementing them. We don’t have time to wait. There’s a game tomorrow. We’re ready for tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.
Jordan on Success
We have a lot of new players and we just want to improve. We just want to go there and put on a show and represent Africa and Ghana the best we can. And I am confident that with the manager’s ideas and the boys’ commitment, I am sure that we will surprise people.
Jordan on what this World Cup means to him after leaving Leicester City
To be honest, I don’t really know where I will play next. The most important thing for me now is my national team and my nation. And when the time comes, we’ll make a decision with myself, my family and my representatives. So, there’s no rush. It’s all good. I just want to enjoy myself at the World Cup and enjoy myself with my country, with my teammates, have fun, and we’ll see what happens.
On how much fun he hopes to have against England in that second group game
A lot of fun.
Jordan on Antoine Semenyo’s performance in the Premier League
I mean, he’s done brilliant. We all know the season he has had since he’s been at Bournemouth, he took it to City and Ghanaians are proud of him. The boys are proud of him. So, we just hope that he’ll keep on doing it and doing it for Ghana. And, you know, it’s our hope that he keeps performing as an individual and we all perform as a team. And once that happens, we will be good and happy.
Jordan on returning to Wales to play after excelling for Swansea City years ago
It’s been good, obviously. I’ve seen a couple of friends that I haven’t seen in a while come to visit me. It’s a real pleasure to be back. Wales is a big part of my journey and my personal life as well. I enjoyed myself really, really well. I have really good friends and a good time here. It’s always a pleasure to be back. Hopefully we’ll win the game tomorrow.
Jordan on losing last four games since October
Yeah, we know we’ve lost four games, but we need to look at the performances. Some we didn’t perform well, some we did well. And I always remember the Germany game as an encouraging performance. Austria, for me was not a 5-1 game, but sometimes it’s a game. So, listen, the FA have made a decision and gone in another direction and brought in a wonderful manager with a lot of experience and he’s helping us and we’re seeing the difference over the past couple of days now and couple of weeks. So, listen, the past is the past, there’s a new chapter and we just need to focus on what’s ahead of us — and obviously tomorrow is the first step. And I know Ghana; I know the country where we come from. Sometimes we take things a bit too personal, but I think we just need to all be patient and be relaxed and be positive about the squad, about the team and about the manager as well. So, as players, we just focus on what’s ahead of us and tomorrow is the first step. But listen, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. We’re going in to perform well, to get results and to start building from there. We know, definitely we’ll be ready for Panama.
