Ghana drop Jordan from Afcon squad
by Gary Al-Smith 13 December 2012, 17:50
Kwesi Appiah has dropped Jordan Ayew and Sulley Muntari from a 25-man team he announced for pre-tournament Afcon 2013 camping.
The Ghana coach faced the nation on Thursday at the Football Association premises in Accra. As heavily speculated in the local media, in-form Yahaya Mohammed has been rewarded with a place among the strikers.
The gaffer skilfully avoided the question of dropping Jordan Ayew, who has been in good form this season for Marseille. The youngster is widely believed to have been dropped for reasons other than his output on the pitch.
Sulley Muntari also misses only his second African Nations Cup since 2006, with the exception of the 2010 edition in Angola which saw Milovan Rajevac lead the team to the final. Meanwhile, former Kotoko defender Awal Mohammed also slipped into the team.
The squad will be trimmed to 23 after camping in Abu Dhabi next month in time for Caf's deadline of January 9, 2013 for the team to submit its final squad.
Ghana are in group B with DR Congo and the West African duo of Niger and Mali.
Official 26-man Ghana squad:
Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Fatau Dauda (AshantiGold, Ghana), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana)
Defenders: John Paintsil (Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel), Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), Mubarak Wakaso (Espanyol, Spain), Richard Kissi Boateng (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana), John Boye (Rennes, France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Isaac Vorsah (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria), Jerry Akaminko (Eskisehirspor, Turkey), Rashid Sumaila (Asante Kotoko, Ghana), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg United, South Africa).
Midfielders: Andre Ayew (Marseille, France), Christian Atsu (FC Porto, Portugal), Anthony Annan (Osasuna, Spain), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, Ukraine), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu (Udinese, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England), Rabiu Mohammed (Evian, France)
Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Emmanuel Clottey (Esperance, Tunisia), Richmond Boakye Yiadom (Sassoulo, Italy), Yahaya Mohammed (Amidaus Professionals, Ghana)
