The Manchester City winger made his senior international debut for the Black Stars in May 2022 and has since become one of their most important players. Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama, with the group stage fixtures taking place in Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia.
"I was never in the England rankings like that anyway," he told the In The Mixer podcast. "Ghana came when I was 20, 21? And I can't turn down playing first team for Ghana, so it was such an easy decision."
The reaction at home was one of pure celebration. Semenyo's father, Larry — himself a former player in Ghana's top flight who shared the pitch with Tony Yeboah — was particularly overjoyed that his son had chosen the Black Stars.
"My dad was so happy, celebrating. He was like, 'Yeah, you don't play for England!' Everyone in my family was so happy. They support Ghana. They watch games and it's crazy. Shouting, kicking stuff in the house. It's serious."
Semenyo scored 12 Premier League goals in his debut season at City and has spoken about his desire to use the World Cup stage to demonstrate Ghana's quality at the highest level. He is not getting carried away, though, acknowledging that advancing from the group is the first and only objective.
On facing England specifically, he was measured but clear. "It's gonna be tough but yeah," he said when asked if he was looking forward to the contest. He has previously told CBS Sports that he would dance with his entire team if he scored against them.
Family will be in the stands to watch. "Mum and dad will be there, for sure. Uncles, aunties, they'll probably be there too. There'll be loads of them."