Ghana name final 2013 AFCON squad, Sumaila dropped

Published on: 09 January 2013

By Ameenu Shardo

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has left out home-based defender Rashid Sumaila in his final squad for this month's Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

The Black Stars trainer revealed his final squad for the tournament on Wednesday one month after he announced his provisional 26-man squad for the tournament.

Appiah had the easy task of dropping just one player after Andre Ayew was left out on Monday following uncertainity over his fitness.

Yahaya Mohammed, the local league's leading scorer was also dropped last week after he suffed a groin injury that will keep him out for about four weeks.

This means the Black Stars squad for the Africa Cup of Nations features 10 players from the group that was knocked out at the semi-final stage by eventual champions Zambia in the last edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The local league has four outfield players in the team with two players; Solomon Asante and Richard Kissi Boateng coming from the 2012 CAF Champions League campaigners Berekum Chelsea.

The others, goalkeepers Fatau Dauda and Daniel Agyei play for Ashgold and Liberty Professionals respectively.

As many as 11 players are debutants in the competition which means there are many young players in the squad who are hungry to achieve success.

Coach Kwesi Appiah trimmed his squad to 23 at the training camp in the United Arab Emirates, where Ghana will play friendlies against Egypt and Tunisia.

Ghana will be seeking to win a fifth Africa Cup of Nations title, when the tournament gets underway in South Africa from 19 January.

The Black Stars, though, have not won the continent's top prize since 1982, when they beat Libya 7-6 on penalties in the final.

Final Ghana squad for 2013 Africa Cup of Nations

Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Fatau Dauda (AshantiGold), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals)

Defenders: John Paintsil (Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel), Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), Richard Kissi Boateng (Berekum Chelsea), Wakaso Mubarak (Espanyol, Spain), John Boye (Rennes, France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Isaac Vorsah (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria), Jerry Akaminko (Eskisehirspor, Turkey), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg United, South Africa).

Midfielders: Christian Atsu (FC Porto, Portgal), Anthony Annan (Osasuna, Spain), Derek Boateng (Dnipro Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu (Udinese, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Rabiu Mohammed (Evian, France), Solomon Asante (Berekum Chelsea).

Strikers: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Emmanuel Clottey (Esperance, Tunisia), Boakye Yiadom (Sassuolo, Italy), Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England).

Do you think coach Akwasi Appiah made the right call by dropping Rashid Sumaila?

Is the final 23-man squad good enough to end Ghana's 31-year wait for the African Cup?

Make your thoughts known by commenting on the dialogue box below:

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more