Yaw Preko, a BetPawa Premier League Coach of the Month nominee for September 2022, has declared that he will not be shocked if the U-23 duo of goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim and forward Afriyie Barnieh are selected for the 2022 World Cup.
The two were brilliant in the Black Meteors’ 2-1 away win against Mozambique in the U-23 AFCON qualifiers in Maputo on Sunday.
They will both be engaged in the return fixture at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday, October 30, 2022. Barnieh scored both goals for Ghana, and Danlad made significant saves to keep the game alive.
The duo of Barnieh and Danlad have passed through the various national teams’ ranks, they were part of the team that won the 2020 WAFU Zone B U20 Cup of Nations Tournament in Benin and also won the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which was hosted by Mauritania.
They have been promoted to the Black Galaxies squad, which has qualified for the CHAN Tournament in Algeria in 2023.
Yaw Preko, the head coach of Accra Great Olympics, is convinced that these two duos would be selected for Otto Addo’s team, which is anticipated to be released for the World Cup in November.
In an interview with Muftawu Adamu of Radio Gold, the head coach of Accra Great Olympics was optimistic that these two players could be the only players from the BetPawa Premier League to have a spot on the list to be sent to FIFA.
He said in an interview on the show Radio Gold Talk Sport, “It’s a different ball game altogether there; it’s high there, and there is competition. They [local players] can make it; it depends on what the coach is looking for. We can be here talking about certain things, but at the end of the day, it’s the system, the players, and what the coach wants to implement and what he wants to get out of Danlad Ibrahim and Afriyie Barnieh. But if they can make it, I won’t be surprised. “
