Antoine Semenyo of Ghana in action during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 March 2026. EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI
Friday May 29, 2026. 15:00
Antoine Semenyo insists Ghana are ready to write their own history at the 2026 World Cup as they look to prove themselves on the global stage.
The Black Stars will be making their fifth appearance at the tournament and Semenyo has fond memories of their showing at the 2010 edition in South Africa when they reached the quarter-finals.
The 26-year-old striker was born in London, England but chose to represent the country of his father’s birth and made his international debut against Madagascar on 1 June 2022.
“My mum and dad are Ghana through and through. They never really mentioned anything about England,” Semenyo said in an interview with FIFA.
“Obviously, living in England, you get the conversation of: ‘Oh, you should represent England’. But it was never a conversation I ever had, really.
“I feel like watching Ghana play in the World Cup was so special. Mum, dad, uncles, aunties, cousins all turn up to one house, and we’ll watch all the games together, celebrating, screaming, all the emotions. It’s everything, it’s so special.”
The Bristol City youth product made his breakthrough in the Premier League with Bournemouth before Manchester City came calling in January and he helped them win the FA Cup after scoring an outrageous winner against Chelsea in the final.
Semenyo will feature in his second World Cup, having been included in Otto Addo’s squad for Qatar 2022 when they failed to make it past the group stages.
Now under the guidance of Carlos Queiroz, Ghana are determined to show to the world that they can compete with the best teams on the planet.
“At that time (2022), I was still at Bristol City, so it was so special. But I feel like now, I just want to prove, and we all want to prove, that we’re a top nation,” Semenyo added.
“We were so frustrated that we didn’t qualify [for AFCON 2025]. But we’re not just coming to the World Cup, we want to compete on all levels. We’ve got a lot of attacking talent and killer instincts.
“I feel like we do want to write our own story. We’ve got such a good team and we just need to prove to the world that we can compete with everyone else.”