As many as nine (9) players will not be involved in the remaining three Black Stars fixtures in the June international break.
Faced with playing four games – two each in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers and the upcoming 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer tournament in Japan – in a space of 14 days, head coach Otto Addo initially named an elaborate squad of 33 players.
It then expanded to 35 called-up players with invitations to full-backs Andy Yiadom and Dennis Korsah.
A dominant performance saw Black Stars thrash Madagascar 3-0 to open their Afcon qualifying campaign.
Ghana next plays Central African Republic (CAR) at an adopted venue in Angola and 25 players have made the trip late Friday afternoon.
The dropped players
Ghana Premier League trio of Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, Augustine Okrah and Dennis Korsah – who was only given a late call and trained with the team on Thursday – did not make the cut.
Afcon 2023Q: Dennis Korsah gets late Black Stars invite for CAR clash
Same fate for goalkeeper Richard Ofori and right-back Andy Yiadom who joined camp late.
Celta Vigo centre-back Joseph Aidoo is still ruled out after twisting his right ankle earlier in training.
The GFA in its announcement went mum on the absence of attackers Yaw Yeboah, Braydon Manu and Antoine Semenyo who had his international debut with a cameo appearance in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Madagascar at Cape Coast.
In an earlier publication, the GFA noted that VfL Bochum winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei will be joining up with the squad in Japan for the Kirin Cup Soccer tournament where Ghana will be facing hosts Japan in Kobe on June 10 and Chile or Tunisia in the final or third-place play-off in Osaka four days later.
The Black Stars will be looking to record yet another win in Sunday’s game against CAR in order to continue their grip on top spot in Group E of the Afcon 2023 qualifiers.
Kickoff is 13:00 GMT at Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda.
Black Stars squad for CAR:
Goalkeepers (3): Joseph Wollacott, Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Manaf Nurudeen
Defenders (7): Alidu Seidu, Denis Odoi, Gideon Mensah, Baba Abdul Rahman, Abdul Mumin, Daniel Amartey, Jonathan Mensah
Midfielders (6): Idrissu Baba, Edmund Addo, Elisha Owusu, Mohammed Kudus, Daniel Kofi Kyereh, Mubarak Wakaso
Wingers/Attackers (9): Andre Ayew, Joseph Painstil, Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Osman Bukari, Felix Afena-Gyan, Kwasi Okyere Wriedt, Benjamin Tetteh
