In exactly 5-days from today, precisely Monday, 20th May 2019, Ghana coach James Kwasi Appiah will end the anxious wait of many Ghanaians regarding the 30-man squad that will begin camping in Dubai ahead of the 2019 AFCON.
Insiders within the technical team of the Black Stars have hinted that the squad could be 28 despite their desire to have had a 30-man list for the exercise.
Regardless, the wait will still be over, and who are likely to make the list?
Of course there are certain key names that will automatically make the list which every Ghanaian undoubtedly is aware.
The Ayew brothers, Gyan, Wakaso, Partey, Kassim, Ofori (GK), and a few others are clearly automatics for the trip, but who are those who will join?
Kwasi Appiah, following his return for the Ghana job clearly told Ghanaians that he was building a team for the 2019 AFCON as he has been tasked to win it.
But is the rebuilding process over? Has Kwasi seen all the players he wanted to see and is he confident that those players can win the trophy for him? Well, perhaps the rebuilding is still on as he kept inviting new players into the team with three months to the AFCON.
Ghanaians have expressed various degrees of disappointment in the Ghana gaffer after he reverted to the familiar names that had been revolving in the Black Stars during the qualifier with Kenya in Nairobi, a game Ghana lost by a lone goal.
From that game, Appiah swiftly moved away from his rebuilding rhetorics to having experienced players to win the tournament.
Along the line, many were confident that Kwasi Appiah would surely build a new team towards the target of winning the AFCON, especially when he is credited with building the team that got to the finals of the 2015 AFCON under Avram Grant.
And optimistically, it looked like Kwasi Appiah was on track to change what Avram Grant failed to do and win back the trust and love of Ghanaians for the Black Stars again.
His maiden competitive game against Ethiopia saw him invite players like Raphael Dwamena, Thomas Agyepong, and a few others who made their debut appearances.
And the result was amazing – Dwamena hit a brace with Agyepong creating three of the 5 goals scored against Ethiopia at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
But from that game to the friendlies with Mexico and the USA, through to the 2018 World Cup qualifiers with Congo, Uganda and Egypt and the friendlies with Japan and Iceland before the 2019 AFCON qualifiers, a lot has changed.
About 25 new players have played within that period, some have churned out magical performances while others have showed clearly that they aren’t at the level of the Black Stars.
Kwasi Appiah has supervised 13 games following his re-appointment as the coach of the Black Stars, managing 6 wins, 3 defeats and 4 draw while scoring 22 goals and conceding 10 in the process.
Not a bad record for the gaffer, but how will his selection for the AFCON be and will it in any way give Ghanaians the needed confidence to expect the AFCON trophy after a 37-year wait?
FootballMadeInGhana.com believes that Kwasi Appiah’s 30 or 28 man squad will not be any different from the list below following deep throat investigations and analysis of the individual players currently.
Goalkeepers
Richard Ofori (Maritzburg United)
Felix Annan (Asante Kotoko)
Fatau Dauda (Enyimba FC)
Defenders
Andy Yiadom (Reading FC)
Fatawu Mohammed (Hearts)
Baba Rahman (Stade Reims)
Lumor Agbeyenu (Goztepe)
Kassim Adam (TSG Hoffenheim)
Joseph Aidoo (KRC Genk)
Isaac Donkor (Universitatea Craiova)
Musah Nuhu (St. Gallen)
John Boye (FC Metz)
Midfielders
Mubarak Wakaso (Deportivo Alaves)
Rahman Chibsah (Frosinone Calcio)
Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid)
Osman Bukari (AS Trenćín)
Abdul Fatwau Safiu (Asante Kotoko)
Andre Dede Ayew (Fenerbahcé)
Christian Atsu (Newcastle United)
Majeed Ashmeru (St. Gallen)
Joseph Paintsil (GRC Genk)
Strikers
Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace)
Asamoah Gyan (Kayserispor)
Majeed Waris (FC Nantes)
Caleb Ekuban (Trapzonspor)
Richmond Boakye-Yiadom (Red Star Belgrade)
John Antwi (Msr El Makasa)
Kwabena Owusu (Salamanca)
Bernard Terkpetey (Paderborn)
Dauda Mohammed (Vitesse Arnhem)
