By Marcella Mwinkoma Babing
Former Black Stars midfielder, Michael Essien, who won 59 caps and played in the 2006 and 2014 World Cups, has touched down at FIFA headquarters to support the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
He expressed confidence in his team’s young players and offered support for their bid to play for the Black Stars at the 2026 World Cup.
“We have a lot of African boys here, so I thought it would be nice to come on board and help out with the young ones because they are our future, so we need to give them all the advice and experience they need.
You always feel joy when you see a young one that you’ve worked with represent their country.” He said
Michael Essien is the assistant coach to FC Nordsjaelland which was acquired by the Accra-based Right to Dream Academy in 2015, a tremendous move which created a breakthrough for Ghanaian talents to excel in Europe.
He has been part of the technical team at FC Nordsjaelland since 2020 and signed a contract extension in June 2025.
Mohammed Kudus, Ibrahim Osman, Ernest Nuamah, and Kamaldeen Sulemana are all likely to feature for the Black Stars in the 2026 World Cup, having taken the same route via the Right to Dream Academy/FC Nordsjaelland.
He further commented that, Kudus and Sulemana are arguably the academy’s star alumni. “I think he has showcased himself to the football world. He’s one of the biggest talents and for Ghana, he’s our star. We have to protect him and give him all the love and confidence he needs”, he stated.
“Sulemana is a great talent. I managed to see him here and he’s got a lot of qualities in him. He’s a good dribbler, he’s very fast, he’s quite strong. Hopefully he can bring that on board. He has to feel free and be himself when he’s on the pitch, then the rest will come”, he further mentioned.
He classified Caleb Yirenkyi as a versatile midfielder and one of the several young Ghanaians starring for FC Nordsjælland or the Tigers, stating that the 20-year-old has already won ten caps for the senior side with the majority of his minutes coming as a right-back.”
“I can only say good things about him. He’s such a hard-working guy. He’s very calm, very respectful, very quiet. He does his talking on the pitch and it’s good to see him doing very well for the team. He’s got his own style of play, but sometimes I see some glimpses that remind him of me when I was little. He always comes to me and asks questions and I try to give him the best advice and he takes it on board. Hopefully he can be a huge player in the future”; He expressed.
He admitted that Ghana’s recent matches have been very disappointing; they have to move on from that nonetheless. “Of course it was a big disappointment, but in football, you have to move on from that. The good thing in football is you always have the next game to make things right”; Essien stated.
He advised the team to take each game as it comes and do their best. “It’s a tournament – anything can happen. You just have to make sure you win your games and keep moving. Let’s see what they can do.” He noted.
