Black Stars captain Andre Ayew believes that while no player is guaranteed a spot in Ghana’s World Cup squad, senior players may have an advantage.
Following the addition of new players, Ghana coach Otto Addo has a large pool from which to choose his 26-man squad for the tournament.
Inaki Williams, Tariq Lamptey, Mohammed Salisu, and two former Germany youth internationals, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer and Stephan Ambrosius, have made themselves available and are competing for places in the final squad with players who contributed to qualification.
“The players are good, and qualifying for the World Cup makes you very attractive. Why not let the boys come? The door is open for any Ghanaian who wants to play for and help the country, but you must come with the same determination you put into your club, the same desire, and you cannot expect everything in your European club to be the same in the national team because there is a time for the team to adapt,” Ayew told Al Jazeera.
“I fully support them and wish them the best of luck, especially when you come with a strong desire to succeed. When you have the right attitude and desire to sweat for the Ghana jersey, I am more than willing to welcome you, even though I am not the coach but a longtime member of the team.”
“The newcomers are talented, but we already have a strong team that qualified for the World Cup, so every position is competitive. Apart from senior players who may have an advantage, I believe no one is guaranteed a place in the squad just yet. Everyone must prove their quality on the field and everyone has a chance, giving the coach more options and solutions, formations, and I believe it is beneficial to have new players with the right mentality,” Ayew added.
“Everything is in place for us to have a successful World Cup”.
Black Stars captain Andre Ayew believes that the team has the right ingredients to succeed in Qatar. #3Sports pic.twitter.com/GjxKdItqdK
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) September 26, 2022
Otto Addo is expected to name his final squad in early November, with the tournament set to begin on November 20, with the Black Stars taking the field four days later.
Black Stars’ first match is against former European champions Portugal, led by Ronaldo, followed by South Korea and then Uruguay in a rematch of the 2010 quarterfinal match in South Africa, which the South Americans won on penalties.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana