Young lads fit for the job

Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, has put his faith in young lads as he seeks to revive Ghana’s hopes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in a crucial double header against Congo.

He has thus invited two debutants into his 24-man squad to first host Congo at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on September 1, and the return leg in Brazzaville on September 5.

Justifying the rationale behind inviting two debutants to the Graphic Sports yesterday at the Accra City Hotel, the coach said: “Ghana has got a lot of talents and it’s important we always introduce one or two young players to strengthen the pool of players available at any time.

“I believe players who have what it takes should be prepared to step in when the established regular stars are not available for one reason or the other. The depth of talent is amazing so it is important to build their confidence step by step. That is why I always bring one or two uncapped players for each game and there are a whole lot of players waiting,” Kwasi Appiah explained.

Edwin Gyasi of Norwegian side, Aalesund, and WAFA's marksman, Gideon Waja, are the new youngsters who could make their international debut for the Stars.

The 57-year-old trainer dropped experienced players, including Majeed Waris, Mubarak Wakaso, Agyemang Badu, Afriyie Acquah, Adam Kwarasey and Razak Brimah, among others.

Ghana, at the moment, is third in Group E behind Egypt and Uganda and the Stars face a tough task to ensure they beat Congo over the two ties to stand a chance of making it to the global showpiece in Russia.

Other fairly new players are goalkeepers, Lawrence Ati Zigi and Joseph Addo, defenders, Lumor Agbenyenu, Nicholas Opoku, as well as Joseph Attamah Larweh, midfielders, Kwadwo Poku, Alfred Duncan, Isaac Sackey, Ebenezer Ofori and Thomas Agyepong and Raphael Dwamena have all received invitations to play for the Stars.