Ghana U-20 striker Joselpho Barnes has revealed his father Sébastien played an important role in his decision to represent his country of origin and not that if his birth, Germany.

Joselpho, 19 is having his first national team experience with Ghana’s Black Satellites at the ongoing Total Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), in Mauritania.

He is the son of former Black Stars defender Sebastien Barnes and was born in Germany. His dad, Sebastien, famously captained the Ghanaian Under-17 team to the World Cup title in 1991 beating Spain by a solitary goal, before also leading them to a second consecutive final in 1993 where they lost to Brazil.

In an exclusive interview with CAF Online, Joselpho says Senior Barnes was key in him choosing Ghana.

“My dad played a huge role for me to choose Ghana. He always told me of his stories playing for the Under-17s and I really wanted to follow in his footsteps so that is why I decided to play for Ghana. I wanted to be like him and even better and make him proud,” the striker revealed.

After excelling as a youth team player for Ghana, Sébastien Barnes never really had it going for the senior national team, the Black Stars. He had only one appearance to his name but his son, Joselpho is hoping to go a step better; rake in more appearances for Ghana’s Black Stars after the U-20 experience.

Joselpho Barnes believes to achieve this, he needs to work hard and impress with the Under-20 team and hopefully, break into a very competitive senior team.

“I am very confident in my abilities and I know if I work very hard, I can do it. In the next two or three years, I want to push myself further to see to it that I get that opportunity to play for the Black Stars,” Barnes said.

Joselpho Barnes will hope to feature when Ghana lock horns with Uganda for the ultimate in the final of the U-20 AFCON on Saturday.