England announce Ghana friendly in March

England will face Ghana for the first time in a senior international friendly at Wembley on Tuesday 29 March, the Football Association has announced.

But a proposed friendly against Thailand, due to take place in June, will not now go ahead.

That game was organised in an attempt to gain support for England's failed 2018 World Cup bid.

Ghana, who reached the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, have several British-based players in their squad.

Those include Black Stars captain Michael Essien, who plays at Chelsea, Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan and Fulham's John Pantsil

England's game against Ghana will come three days after they have played their first Euro 2012 qualifier of the year against Wales in Cardiff.

Fabio Capello's team did not have a friendly before their previous qualifier in October and they could only manage a 0-0 draw with Montenegro at Wembley.

But they do face Denmark on 9 February in Copenhagen.

Ghana were only a missed last-minute penalty away from reaching the semi-finals at last year's World Cup where they would have become the first African team to go that far in the tournament

But Gyan missed the spot-kick in their quarter-final against Uruguay following Luis Suarez's deliberate handball, and the South Americans won the subsequent shootout.

England, meanwhile, could only reach the second round of the tournament, losing 4-1 to Germany.

The teams have met before at youth level, with Ghana claiming a crushing 4-0 win over England at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup two years ago. - BBC