Hearts of Oak forward Daniel Afriyie Barnieh was pleased with his performance in his first start for Ghana in their pre-World Cup friendly against Switzerland on Thursday.
The 21-year caught the eye of Ghanaians after a superb display which aided Ghana to a 2-0 victory.
Like the final Black Stars squad announcement, Afriyie Barnieh was not even in the books of connoisseurs to start but Otto Addo surprised the masses with the inclusion of the former Satellites captain in the Black Stars line up against Switzerland for the game in Abu Dhabi.
He grabbed the opportunity and was an absolute menace down the right flank running confidently at defenders while initiating dangerous attacks. He was subtly denied a penalty in the first half when he attempted to go past his marker in the box.
While a lot of fans have hailed the performance of the forward, Barnieh solely attributes it to Otto Addo’s clever instructions and his ability to follow suit.
“It was a good game. There was no pressure. I stuck to what the coaches said and everything went well for me” he told Joy Sports after the game.
Ghana will face the world in seven days as they line up against Portugal in their opening World Cup game in Qatar and having noted the just-ended game as a factor for key decisions, Otto Addo may be compelled to consider Afriyie Barnieh in his selection for the future.
The Phobian still faces competition against the likes of Red Star Belgrade’s Osman Bukari, Club Brugge’s Kamal Sowah and his Black Satellite teammate Fatawu Issahaku.
Kamaldeen Sulemana and Jordan Ayew have also been regular starters on the flanks for the Black Stars in recent times.