From South London to the Süper Lig: Jerome Opoku on his journey to Ghana’s World Cup squad
We are just four months away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see Ghana face off against Panama in Toronto before taking on England in Foxborough, followed by a match-up against Croatia in Philadelphia. It is shaping up to be a challenging fixture list for the Black Stars, and one player who looks set to play a pivotal role in helping them navigate the “Group of Death” is Jerome Opoku.
Born in the South London borough of Lambeth, Opoku was raised in England by Ghanaian immigrants and rose through the ranks at Fulham’s academy before eventually cutting his teeth in League One for Accrington Stanley and Plymouth Argyle. He then made the move to Danish outfit Vejle Boldklub, where he established himself as one of the top central defenders in the Danish SuperLiga. After three straight loan spells, Opoku decided to call it quits on his Fulham adventure after 13 years, making the move to Portuguese outfit Arouca. Opoku established a rock-solid partnership in central defense alongside João Basso, forming the bedrock of a team that took the entire league by surprise.
Having narrowly avoided relegation in their return to the top flight in 2021/22, Arouca would ascend to the upper reaches of the table and qualify for European football for the second time ever after finishing fifth. These stellar displays would attract the attention of Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir, and after a long-winded transfer saga, Opoku signed a one-year contract extension until 2026 with Arouca before joining Başakşehir on loan (later made permanent for a reported €1.5 million).
Opoku quickly made his presence felt, playing 32 times in all competitions to lead the Owls to a fourth-place finish and a trip to the Turkish Cup quarterfinals, before scoring three goals and four assists in 33 league appearances as Başakşehir placed fifth in the 2024/25 Süper Lig table. And whilst he was linked with a return to England in the summer, Opoku opted to stay put at Başakşehir, where he is contracted through 2027. Although he isn’t closing the door on a homecoming, he is more than happy in Istanbul, where he is raising his 10-month-old son, Rome, and his two-year-old son, Cruz, with his wife.
“As I always say, it’s God’s plan, so I think that if I just keep putting in the performances, whatever comes will kind of reflect on where I could be, or where I should be. For now, I’m here in Istanbul, and that’s what I’m focused on, but whatever happens is really God’s plan, so I’ve got to keep working hard and see what comes,” stated Opoku in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview.
It hasn’t been a conventional journey for Opoku, who started off idolizing Gareth Bale and dreamed of becoming a winger, only to be moved to left back by his U-15 coach Mark Pembridge. And after enjoying a growth spurt, he shifted to the center back role, where he has remained ever since. When he was 17, Opoku abandoned his academic studies in order to focus on becoming a professional footballer—just a few weeks later, Opoku suffered a season-ending ACL injury. And yet, it’s obvious that this adversity has paid off in the long term for Opoku, who has earned praise from the likes of Gabriele Marcotti and established himself as one of the very best defenders in Türkiye. He currently ranks second in their squad for 1.2 interceptions per 90 and 50.7 accurate passes (89% success rate) per 90 in league play, as well as third for 4.1 clearances per 90.
“I’ve really developed my all-around game since going to Başakşehir, in general terms of just being a defender. Being a defender first, making sure you can achieve the clean sheet, that’s the main focus when growing up, but a few years ago, I started to focus on a few more different things. Where I am now is just about not letting the striker score and coming back with that clean sheet; that’s where I get my main joy from now. Back then, maybe I’d be thinking, ‘Let me get a goal, let me take this guy on,’ but it’s not really the fundamentals of being a defender. The past couple of years have just been about keeping the clean sheet… that’s my main focus. If that goal goes in, then it hurts, so it’s just about keeping the goals down to a minimum and having a clean performance.”
Opoku hasn’t just made his mark at the club level, but the international level. One month after moving to Istanbul, Opoku received his maiden call-up for the Ghanaian national team, making his debut in a 4-0 defeat vs. the United States in Nashville, before missing out on the next two windows. He returned in March 2024, playing in two friendlies vs. Nigeria and Uganda before returning a year later to make his competitive debut vs. Chad in World Cup qualifying. He then started in a 3-0 win vs. Madagascar, missing out on the next two friendlies, before returning in September 2025 and playing the full 90 in a 1-0 win vs. Mali. He then made two late cameos vs. Mali and the Central African Republic, before watching from the bench as Ghana defeated Comoros and secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup. Opoku then headed to the Far East for the November friendlies, starting in a 2-0 defeat to Japan before riding the bench vs. South Korea.
“Growing up in South London, I had a lot of Ghanaian friends and Ghanaian neighbors at school; it was kind of like a community in itself. Of course, when you go to weddings and parties, you see a lot of Ghanaian family members, so it never leaves you. Now being able to go to the actual country frequently is amazing, because now I’m seeing more family members, making new friends and new relationships, and learning more about the culture. It’s amazing, it’s all good.”
At 27 years of age, Jerome Opoku has already established himself in England, Denmark, Portugal, and Türkiye. But now, can he leave his mark in his first-ever international tournament in North America and lead Ghana to the knockout round for the first time since 2010? Stay tuned for what promises to be a baptism of fire for Opoku and his Black Stars teammates.