Christopher William Gerard Hughton, the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager, released a 25-man squad on March 9, 2023, twenty-five days after being appointed coach of the Black Stars.
The Black Stars of Ghana will host the Palancas Negras of Angola in the third game of Group E qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
Chris Hughton released his first official list of players for the doubleheader games in Kumasi and Luanda on March 23 and 27, respectively.
The British-born manager did the needful by omitting Baba Rahman from the squad as well as other local players such as Danlad Ibrahim and now a foreign-based player, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, from the set-up.
Some of the regular players, including Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, and the Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, were part of the squad that the 64-year-old manager released.
Jojo Wollacott, who missed the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to a finger injury, has been given a spot in the team that the former Technical Director released, along with a spot for Joseph Paintsil, who is currently in good form. In addition, Majeed Ashimeru and Edmund Addo were invited despite not making the World Cup roster.
Some notable absentees, like Alidu Seidu and midfielders Elisha Owusu and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, who are not available due to long-term injuries, have been robbed of the chance to feature in next week’s AFCON qualifier.
Ghanaians are thrilled that Chris Hughton decided to hold off on including Baba Rahman in the newest Black Stars squad, especially social media users who are applauding the tactician for his decision.
The Ghanaian fans on social media are of the view that the left-back of Reading Football Club has overstayed at the camp of the Black Stars, especially when he was the talk of the town in our last World Cup group game against Uruguay.
The 25-man squad has been listed below: goalkeepers Lawrence Ati Zigi (FC St. Gallen), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen), and Joseph Wollacott (Charlton Athletic).
The defenders comprised: Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion), Denis Odoi (Club Brugge), Gideon Mensah (Auxerre), Patrick Kpozo (Sheriff Tiraspol), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton FC), and Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg).
Thomas Partey (Arsenal FC), Majeed Ashimeru (RSC Anderlecht), Abdul Salis Samed (Lens), and Edmund Addo (Spartak Subotica) made it onto the list of midfielders called up by Chris Hughton.
The wingers are made up of, Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Osman Bukari (Red Star Belgrade), Joseph Paintsil (Genk), Kamal Deen Sulemana (Southampton FC), Ransford Yeboah Königsdörffer (Hamburger SV).
Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam), Andre Ayew (Nottingham Forest), Kamal Sowah (Club Brugge), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao), and Antoine Semenyo (AFC Bournemouth) completed the list as forwards to face Angola.
