GHANA
FIFA Rank: 29
Coach: James Appiah
Captain: Asamoah Gyan
Nickname: The Black Stars
Best AFCON finish: Winners (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982)
AFCON 2012 finish: Fourth-place
AFCON PEDIGREE:
Ghana are four-time Africa Cup of Nations champions (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982) which makes them the second most successful team in the tournament's history behind Egypt.
The West African giants went through a period of mediocrity in the competition in the mid-1980s to late-1990s. During that period they were eliminated in the group stages, while they failed to qualify for the finals altogether on three attempts.
The Black Stars came agonisingly close to earning a fifth title in the 2010 competition, but they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to the Pharaohs in the final.
They then headed into the 2012 edition as one of the pre-tournament favourites, but were knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winners Zambia, before losing 1-0 to Mali in the third-place play-off.
SQUAD OVERVIEW:
Ghana coach James Appiah could put his faith in a far more youthful and inexperienced squad than the star-studded teams which have graced the African showpiece in years gone by.
Veterans John Mensah and Sulley Muntari, well-travelled and decorated campaigners abroad, were notable absentees from Appiah's provisional squad for the tournament, along with Olympique de Marseille starlet Jordan Ayew, son of Ghana legend Abedi Pelé.
Abedi Pele's older son Andre Ayew has since also been excluded after the playmaker failed to report for team duty the weekend before final squad announcements were due.
Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien, who missed out on the 2012 edition due to injury, ruled himself out of the tournament, choosing instead to focus on his club career.
Talismanic striker Asamoah Gyan, who has taken over the captain's armband from Mensah, will now carry his country's hopes on his broad shoulders.
Gyan, who plies his trade at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, is his country's current leading goalscorer with 28 strikes and is only five behind all-time leading scorer Abedi Pelé.
Two relative unknowns to keep an eye out for are midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah and defender Mohammed Awal. Asamoah first appeared on the radars of Europe's big clubs in the last few seasons while playing for Udinese before earning a move to Serie A champions Juventus.
Awal, meanwhile, was recently called up to the national team on the back of his impressive performances for Maritzburg United in South Africa's Premier Soccer League.
FULL SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey, Fatau Dauda, Daniel Agyei
Defenders: Harrison Afful, John Paintsil, Richard Kissi Boateng, Wakasu Mubarak, John Boye, Isaac Vorsah, Jonathan Mensah, Awal Mohammed, Jerry Akaminko
Midfielders: Anthony Annan, Derek Boateng, Rabiu Mohammed, Agyemang Badu, Solomon Asante, Albert Adomah, Christian Atsu, Kwadwo Asamoah
Strikers: Asamoah Gyan, Richmond Boakye Yiadom, Emmanuel Clottey.
Post A Comment!
Be the first to post a comment on this story