Ahead of the upcoming AFCON double header, we dive deep into the official squad announced by Ghana coach on Friday
Ghana will face Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia in the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in the coming weeks and head coach Carlos Queiroz who touched down in the country on Friday has announced his official squad for the games.
Interestingly, there have been casualties from the squad that represented the country at the just ended FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico while some new and familiar faces have been added to the squad.
Among the notable names who could not make it to the FIFA World Cup but will play a part in the AFCON qualifiers are SV Elversberg defender Jan Gyamerah, Nathaniel Adjei of French side Lorient fame, MLS midfielder Ronald Donkor as well as Ibrahim Sulemana and Ibrahim Osman of Sassuolo and Brighton respectively.
Meanwhile, Alexander Djiku who was initially part of the World Cup squad but was replaced later on due to a troublesome hamstring injury is also on the September list. He was replaced by Derrick Luckassen and the Red Star Belgrade defender has also maintained his place.
Mohammed Kudus, who is another prominent name on the September list, was also absent from the final World Cup squad. His omission was linked to an injury setback around the time Ghana finalised its squad but after making two appearances as a substitute for Tottenham in the Premier League and starting in the League Cup defeat to Liverpool, he has regained his status on the international stage.
Top player who were conspicuously missing from the squad to play in the Afcon qualifiers included deputy captain Thomas Partey who recently moved from Villarreal to the Gulf region. Also, Alidu Seidu, Abdul Mumin, Jonas Adjetey, Elisha Owusu, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Brandon Thomas-Asante were left behind but forward Iñaki Williams could not make the squad after he decided to retire from international football having scored only two goals since making his debut for the Black Stars.
Queiroz is also expected to use this squad for an international friendly against Morocco next month.
