Boateng gets Ghana green light

ACCRA — Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has been given the go-ahead by FIFA to represent Ghana at the World Cup, the Ghanaian Football Federation (GFA) announced on Friday.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder was named in Ghana's provisional 30-man squad for the June 11-July 11 tournament but was waiting on official confirmation of his eligibility from world governing body FIFA.

Boateng was born in Berlin to a Ghanaian father and a German mother and began his professional career at Hertha Berlin.

He represented Germany at every youth level after making his Bundesliga debut in 2005 before joining English side Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. Now with Portsmouth, he committed a foul on Michael Ballack in his side's 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea last Saturday that has ruled the Germany captain out of the World Cup.

In a quirk of fate, Ghana will face Germany at the World Cup after being drawn alongside them in Group D, where they will also face Serbia and Australia.