Having announced that “60-70 percent” of the 2015 African Cup of Nations silver-medal winners would be retained for Ghana's upcoming international friendlies against Senegal and Mali, there was some surprise when 19 of the Afcon squad were named in Avram Grant’s squad
There was disappointment as well, not least for several in-form players who have missed out on a chance to impress the Israeli boss.
Of the eleven Black Stars who started the final against the Cote d’Ivoire, only one, the injured Asamoah Gyan, has not been named in the 22-man collective.
Three other members of the Cup of Nations squad have also been dropped.
David Accam was always going to be in harm’s way after playing a peripheral role during the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
The forward came on as a substitute in Ghana’s opener—the defeat to Senegal—but wasn’t used again by Grant and has been overlooked.
When we asked Goal Ghana readers which of five selected players was most likely to be dropped by Grant, only 10.7 percent named Accam, but the forward is yet to make his debut for new club Chicago Fire and will be short of match fitness.
Excluding the two minutes he played against Senegal, Accam hasn’t featured since a 3-0 defeat for Helsingborg at the end of October.
Mohamed Awal is another figure who, like Accam, was present in the defeat to the Indomitable Lions but was overlooked for the rest of the Afcon.
While the centre-back was another victim of both Grant’s switch back to a back four and the rise of Daniel Amartey, he has been playing for new club side Al Shabab.
Goalkeeper Ernest Sowah also misses out.
While Awal and Accam have been overlooked, Grant hasn’t chosen to drop Edwin Gyimah, the only outfield player who didn’t feature at all at the Afcon.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Mohammed Rabiu, the central midfield pairing who lost their places in the starting XI during the tournament in Equatorial Guinea have also been retained. These two will see the upcoming friendlies as a critical opportunity to demonstrate to Grant that they belong in the heart of his midfield.
Wakaso Mubarak’s relative inactivity at Celtic may give either man a chance to shine.
Mahatma Otoo is another who only played a handful of minutes at the Cup of Nations, but he may be the chief beneficiary of Gyan’s injury. Jordan Ayew, for Lorient, and Kwesi Appiah, Crystal Palace’s U21 side, have both been in scoring form since the Afcon, so Ghana fans can be quietly content with the explosive attacking options they will boast against their two West African rivals.
Three players have been brought into the squad having missed out on the Afcon.
Jeffrey Schlupp was always going to emerge as a key member of Grant’s squad and it’s little surprise that he has made an immediate return having missed the Afcon due to seemingly feint fitness concerns. Sclupp featured twice during the qualifiers and it will be interesting to see whether Grant wants the in-form Leicester City man to challenge Abdul Rahman Baba for the left-back berth or work in tandem with the Augsburg man down the left flank.
Ebenezer Assifuah of Sion has returned to the side after, like Schlupp, being dropped from Grant’s preliminary Afcon squad.
The 21-year-old is not a prolific operator in Switzerland and he will be aware that Gyan and Waris Majeed won’t be absent for ever. He, more so than many in the squad, will need to make the most of this opportunity to impress.
Club Africain man Seidu Salifu is the only player in the squad to have received his first call-up, despite Grant’s previous suggestion that he will include several new faces. He can feature in the centre or on the right and represents a pertinent reminder to the Black Satellites side that flopped in Senegal of what fine showings at U20 level can do for an international career.
While the inclusion of Salifu and Assifuah points towards Grant’s vision for the nation’s future, the manager’s selection is fairly consecutive, particularly considering the expectations he generated with his talk of doors being open for new faces.
There will doubtless be disappointment for Albert Adomah of Middlesbrough and Daniel Opare of Besiktas, both of whom have been overlooked despite enjoying fine form over the last few months.
Rashid Sumaila, Enoch Kofi Adu and Freddie Duncan have also missed out on a chance to impress the boss.
All in all, it’s hard to criticise Grant’s selection. The players who performed so well in Equatorial Guinea deserve the change to continue their good work. By the same token, however, it would have been nice for the ex-Chelsea man to deliver on his talk of new faces.
