Chris Hughton, head coach of the Ghanaian national team, released the final 27-man squad on Monday to represent the nation at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The list, which was announced by the 65-year-old manager at a press conference held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, contains familiar faces like the England-based trio of Mohamed Kudus, Jordan Ayew, and Antoine Semenyo.
Likewise, veteran midfielder and team captain Andre Ayew made the cut alongside Athletic Club forward Inaki Williams, who will be making his AFCON bow. Hughton also called up three home-based players, Asante Kotoko’s Richmond Lamptey and Medeama duo Hamidu Abdul Fatawu and Jonathan Sowah, on the plane to Ivory Coast.
????Our #BlackStars for the AFCON ????????
????♂️ Head Coach Chris Hughton has selected 27 players for the upcoming TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire ????????⚽️ #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Fr1RTs4UPw
— ???????? Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) January 1, 2024
However, one of the notable omissions in the team is Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who was initially included in the provisional 55-man squad. Partey has been a regular for the Black Stars over the years, but his rehabilitation from a niggling thigh injury seems to not have gone well as the 30-year-old continues to recover from the injury that has kept him out of action since October 2023.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s full-time Tariq Lamptey, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Baba Rahman, and rising star Leicester City’s winger Abdul Fatawu Issahaku are other absentees from the list.
Ghana, four-time AFCON winners, are drawn in Group B alongside Egypt, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. The West Africans will kick off their 24th appearance at the tournament with a clash against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on January 14, before facing the Pharaohs in a heavyweight tie four days later and finally the Mambas of Mozambique on January 22.
FULL SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Richard Ofori, Jojo Wollacott
Defenders: Alidu Seidu, Dennis Odoi, Kingsley Schindler, Gideon Mensah, Abdul Fatawu Hamidu, Daniel Amartey, Nicholas Opoku, Alexander Djiku, Mohammed Salisu
Midfielders: Samed Salis, Baba Iddrisu, Majeed Ashimeru, Elisha Owusu, Richmond Lamptey, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Ransford Konigsdorffer, Osman Bukari, Joseph Paintsil, Jordan Ayew, Ernest Nuamah
Strikers: Inaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo, Jonathan Sowah
