Foreign-based trio boost for Queens for Gabon trip

Ghana’s Black Queens have received a boost in their preparation for their Olympic qualifier with the arrival of the three foreign-based players invited for the match.

Defender Janet Egyir (Afturelding/Fram, Iceland) and midfielder Alice Kusi (Shabab Al-Ordon, Jordan) arrived last Saturday evening and were part of the team that left Accra for Gabon on Monday morning, while Portia Boakye (Djurgårdens IF, Sweden), was expected to meet up with the team in Togo for them to continue to Gabon.

The Queens face their Gabonese counterparts in the first leg of their 2020 Olympic qualifier first round tie to be played on Wednesday.

Coach Mercy Tagoe Quarcoo, who named an 18-man squad for the trip, said the arrival of the three players was ‘timely’ as they had always been in her plans.

“I specifically invited these players because I know what they bring to the table. We have been expecting them since we started our preparations and their arrival to join us for the trip to Gabon is timely.

“Of course, there are players who could have filled in, but the wealth of experience of these three players will do a lot for our game plan,” Coach Tagoe Quarcoo told the Graphic Sports online.

After the game in Libreville, the Queens will return home almost immediately to prepare to host the second leg scheduled for September 3 either in Accra or at Cape Coast.

Kusi and Egyir, who were part of the squad that won bronze at this year’s West Africa Football Union (WAFU) tournament in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire last May, said, they had come to continue from where they left off when they last played for the team.

“We are happy to play our roles and help the team deliver anytime we are called upon. We will do what we know to do best once we get the chance in the game against Gabon,” Kusi told the Graphic Sports online.

The 18 players who are on the trip to Gabon are:

Goalkeepers: Fafali Dumehasi, Abigail Tawiah - Mensah

Defenders: Gladys Anfobea, Anastasia Achiaa, Philicity Asuako, Rita Okyere, Justice Tweneboa, Janet Egyir, Ellen Coleman

Midfielders: Juliet Achampong, Alice Kusi, Portia Boakye, Grace Animah, Priscilla Okyere

Grace Asantewaa

Attackers: Ophelia Serwaah Amponsah, Elizabeth Owusua, Milot Abena Pokuaa