Akonnor expands squad for World Cup qualifiers

Black Stars Coach Charles K. Akonnor has decided to expand his squad due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and injuries to some key members of the team.

In view of this, Spain based defender Joseph Aidoo has been drafted into the team for the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.

The Celta Vigo man who hasn’t been in the team since the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan comes in to shore up options at the back due to the possible absence of defender Daniel Amartey for the clash in Johannesburg.

Ghana is likely to lose five players ahead of the second game in South Africa following the decision of Premier League clubs not to release players for matches in COVID-19 red-list countries during the September International window.

This means Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Brentford FC), Baba Abdul Rahman (Reading FC) and Andrew Yiadom (Reading FC) will not travel with the team to South Africa for Ghana’s Group G encounter on Monday September 3. Aside Aidoo, Coach C.K Akonnor has also handed a call up to Yaw Yeboah of Wisła Kraków of Poland.

As part of the continuous assessment of Europe based Ghanaian prospects, two Germany based players Braydon Manu and Daniel Kofi Kyereh have also earned call ups. Kyereh, a 25-year-old forward, plays for FC St. Pauli in the German second tier. He previously played for Eintracht Braunschweig and VfL Wolfsburg.

While Braydon Manu features for Darmstadt 98. The two players were recommended by Technical Director Bernhard Lippert.

The Black Stars would open camp in Cape Coast on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, and play Ethiopia on Friday, September 3, 2021 at 7pm.

Source: GNA