CYMRU are in discussions over a possible pre-World Cup friendly against Ghana, one of England’s group opponents at this summer’s tournament.
The Dragons’ World Cup destiny will be decided next month, with Craig Bellamy’s side preparing for the play-offs. However, should Cymru secure qualification, plans are already being drawn up for a home send-off match in Cardiff, followed by a final warm-up fixture in the United States.
Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney confirmed that Ghana are among the nations being considered for a Cardiff City Stadium friendly, potentially featuring high-profile players such as Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo and Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus. Cymru would then travel to the US ahead of what would be their tournament opener against co-hosts Canada in Toronto on June 12.
“If we qualify, we’d like to have a proper send-off game at home,” Mooney told the Press Association. “We were quite annoyed we didn’t have one before the 2022 World Cup because everything came so late in the window.
“Nothing is finalised yet, but we’ve been speaking to Ghana and that’s one we’ll probably explore further.
“We’ve signed a cooperation agreement with the Ghanaian FA recently, mainly around coaching education. As part of that agreement, we said we’d like to play each other. They have plenty of very good players and it would be a really interesting challenge for us.”
The FAW marked its 150th anniversary on Monday and remains the third-oldest football association in the world. Despite that long history, Cymru have faced African opposition only once before, in a friendly against Tunisia in 1998.
Mooney acknowledged the difficulties of arranging friendlies during a pre-World Cup window, particularly with qualification still uncertain.
“Friendlies are a real conundrum in this window because whether you’re going to the World Cup or not has a huge bearing,” he said. “But one of our ideas was to play a team from Africa, with a different style of football.
“Ghana would be a really attractive summer game at Cardiff City Stadium, but it’s not done yet.”
Cymru host Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup play-off semi-final in Cardiff on March 26, with the winners set to face either Italy or Northern Ireland at home five days later for a place at the finals.
Ghana have been drawn in a group alongside England, Croatia and Panama, with the Black Stars due to face Thomas Tuchel’s England side in Foxborough on June 23.
