VfL Bochum forward Christopher Antwi-Adjei is hoping to be named to Ghana's 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar following his recent revival.
Antwi-Adjei started for VfL Bochum for the first time this season in Tuesday's German Cup victory over SV Elversberg.
"Playing time is always good," he said two days later after training on Thursday.
So far in the Bundesliga, the 28-year-old winger has made five Bundesliga appearances, all as a substitute. Antwi-Adjei only played 19 minutes in the first six games while Thomas Reis was in charge of the club.
"I wouldn't say it's the change of coach," he said. "Of course, I got more playing time last season. But I was also set back twice by injuries. If I'm healthy, I can help the team. But that applies to every player in the squad. It's up to everyone to identify with performance to earn a place in the starting XI."
Reis successor Thomas Letsch slowly introduced the native of Hagen and brought him twice in the second half before Antwi-Adjei was allowed to play in the cup up to the 70th minute.
Letsch left it open on Thursday whether he would start again against Union Berlin on Sunday. In any case, the coach described Antwi-Adjei as an "exciting player" and praised him: "We know his speed and that he can cause problems for the opponent. He did very well against Elversberg. We need competition in these positions."
Against third-division leader Elversberg, VfL trembled into the next round after a late goal. In the home game against Union, Bochum will once again meet a league leader who recently impressively defeated Borussia Dortmund (2-0). Antwi-Adjei knows: "But we need a better performance against Union to take something with us."
Antwi-Adeji helped Ghana qualify for the World Cup and would love to be a part of the team that faces Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay in the group stage.