Black Stars pick powerful selection for World Cup bid
Ghana are taking no chances in their push for FIFA World Cup qualification and have named a strong squad for their next qualifiers against Chad and Mali.
The Black Stars sit in top place in Group I with 15 points from six matches, which is three ahead of closest challengers, the Comoros Islands.
They take on Chad in Ndjamena on September 4 in their next qualifier and then have a key home game in Accra against Mali four days later.
Mali are six points adrift of Ghana in fourth place in the standings.
Black Stars coach Otto Addo has named 24 players for the squad, with two each from the Premier League in England, LaLiga in Spain, and Italy’s Serie A, as well as five from Ligue 1 in France.
The 26-year-old Derrick Köhn, born in Germany and a former reserve at Bayern Munich, represents the Bundesliga in the squad after switching his international allegiance.
In all, players are drawn from clubs in 13 different countries.
Ghana have made four World Cup finals appearances, including the last tournament in Qatar, and at the 2010 finals in South Africa, they became the third African country to reach the quarter-finals.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Joseph Anang (St. Patrick’s Athletic, Ireland), Benjamin Asare (Hearts of Oak), Lawrence Ati Zigi (St. Gallen, Switzerland)
Defenders: Jonas Adjetey (Basel, Switzerland), Alexander Djiku (Fenerbahçe, Turkey), Derrick Köhn (Union Berlin, Germany), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Gideon Mensah (AJ Auxerre, France), Jerome Opoku (İstanbul Başakşehir, Turkey), Mohammed Salisu (Monaco, France), Caleb Yirenkyi (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark)
Midfielders: Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham Hotspur, England), Ibrahim Osman, Elisha Owusu (both AJ Auxerre, France), Thomas Partey (Villarreal, Spain), Abdul Salis Samed (Nice, France), Ibrahim Sulemana (Atalanta, Italy)
Forwards: Jerry Afriyie (La Louvière, Belgium), Jordan Ayew (Leicester City, England), Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al Qadsiah, Saudi Arabia), Joseph Paintsil (LA Galaxy, USA), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth, England), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Atalanta, Italy), Iñaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao, Spain).