Ghana announced an initial 55-man squad list for the 2022 FIFA World Cup last week, set to be slashed down to only about half its length when the tournament is finally – finally – upon us.
Even before that pruning is done, it’s obvious which players would – all things being equal – be on that Qatar-bound plane, but there are all the many other names that would be jostling for not-so-secure places at the Mundial.
Here are five possible surprise picks, from each section of the roster, that could feature to startling effect.
GOALKEEPER: IBRAHIM DANLAD
One of only three home-based players to be invited, Ibrahim Danlad’s inclusion in the Black Stars has long been clamoured for by many fans of the Ghana Premier League.
For some five years now, he has been a national asset, proving his worth with the U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams.
At all those levels Danlad has performed with distinction, as he has for the Black Galaxies, the version of the senior national side that’s the preserve of domestic players, only recently playing a big part in that team’s return to the continental showpiece.
And even for the Black Stars, Danlad has been part of the fabric – albeit loosely – for a while. Following his starring role in Ghana’s U-20 continental triumph last year, Danlad was called up, an experience that further marked him out as a massive prospect, even if he didn’t see any matchday activity while on duty.
Another feather in the 19-year-old’s cap is that he is the starting goalkeeper for Asante Kotoko, Ghana’s current and record league champions. For a young player, then, Danlad boasts plenty of experience that could rival any of those options already available to head coach Otto Addo.
Realistically, Danlad wouldn’t get the nod, but there is a perfect storm in Ghana’s goalkeeping department – no obvious starter right now, as far as public opinion is concerned – that he could take advantage of.
DEFENDER: IBRAHIM IMORO
It’s almost criminal that Ibrahim Imoro has been overlooked since his most recent call-up last year, given he has easily been Ghana’s best left-back in that period.
Diligent in his defensive duties and a willing runner, Imoro is cut from the same cloth as some of the more ‘modern’ full-backs of the era – think Trent Alexander-Arnold or Reece James – as he offers plenty going forward. He’s a threat from set-pieces, too, and the kind of guy who could drop a cross wherever the striker wants it.
All that was evident during his three-year stint with Asante Kotoko, the reigning Ghanaian champions, even topping the league in assists last season when the Porcupine Warriors stormed to league glory.
And Imoro has continued in that form since joining Sudanese side Al Hilal in the last transfer window; now, he gets to impress in the CAF Champions League’s business end for his new club.
And who’s to say he’s unworthy, too, of a place at the World Cup, especially in a position no player really owns at present?
MIDFIELDER: SALIFU MUDASIRU
Well, what an amazing few months it has been for Salifu Mudasiru, another from the Kotoko ranks!
Only in June was he celebrating domestic league triumph with the Kumasi-based outfit; by the first week of November, Mudasiru had completed the group stage of the UEFA Europa League – including a memorable night away at Old Trafford – having already featured in the Champions League’s qualification stage… and there’s still a Conference League campaign to come after the World Cup for Mudasiru, on loan at Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol from Kotoko.
That spell of high-profile action hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Mudasiru now has a chance to stake his claim for a place in Qatar. It’s only really an outside chance, if we’re being honest, but that’s what makes Mudasiru such a fit for the ‘wildcard’ tag.
He conquered the local scene last season and, now fairly accustomed to playing under brighter lights, the midfielder – excellent on the ball and off it – could make a strong case for himself. If Mudasiru doesn’t make the final cut, it certainly wouldn’t be for a lack of effort or worthiness.
WINGER: ERNEST NUAMAH
If there’s any hope for the future of the Black Stars, much of it lies in the realisation that the Right to Dream Academy/FC Nordsjaelland factory is only just starting to feed the national team with a steady stream of exciting young talent.
Kamaldeen Sulemana, dazzling in the way he works that left wing and with the ball at his feet, was the latest off the production line to feature consistently for Ghana, and the upcoming World Cup is expected to be the platform where the Rennes youngster truly explodes to a global audience.
Recent injury picked up while playing for his French club, however, casts a measure of doubt over whether this precocious kid would be available at all for the Mundial – even if Ghana, counting on a huge slice of good fortune, still have him on the provisional roster.
Barring a minor miracle, though, Sulemana wouldn’t be in Qatar, and if that makes Addo desperate for a player of similar profile, he could do worse than Ernest Nuamah, another from the same stables.
Like Sulemana, Nuamah is a handful on the left side, but also versatile enough to slot in upfront and weigh in with goals. Nuamah, like Sulemana, still has some edges that require smoothening, also coming with the disadvantage of being a rookie and not having as much experience as the latter.
In a fairly youthful Ghana side, though, Nuamah – who, barely a year after moving to Nordsjaelland from his homeland to complete his Right to Dream apprenticeship, is already being touted as a prospect for some of Europe’s bigger clubs – would fit right in and, potentially, send pulses racing.
STRIKER: KWASI OKYERE WRIEDT
Football hasn’t been fair to Kwasi Okyere Wriedt, has it?
From lighting up Bayern Munich’s youth ranks and knocking on the doors of the first team only a couple of years ago, Wriedt now plays in the German second tier for Holstein Kiel after a brief stop in the Eredivisie with Willem II.
And while he isn’t quite as prolific a senior as he was back in his days with Bayern, Wriedt, now aged 28 and a three-time Bundesliga winner, is capable of leading an attack and is presently doing just fine in northern Germany.
Wriedt – who, across his six international appearances (dating back to summer of 2018), has seen less than an hour of football and scored no goals – hasn’t had much of a look-in thus far, but at a time Ghana’s offense is crying out for a spearhead, he’s as good a candidate as anyone.
Three goals in his last five league starts makes a pretty convincing case – possibly as the joker in Ghana’s attacking pack.
Enn Y. Frimpong – Ink & Kicks
