Ghana coachKwesi Appiah claims that Senegal and Nigeria have the potential to be a surprise package at the World Cup. Unlike in the last few editions of the World Cup, African teams are not the strongest this year’s tournament. This is due to a mixed run of form for teams like Nigeria. Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco are the other representatives from this continent. The group stages have produced a mixed draw for the African teams; Senegal are in a group containing Japan, Colombia, and Poland. Meanwhile, Nigeria are up against the likes of Iceland and Argentina in the group matches.
A major absentee from the World Cup is Ghana, who have been a steady force when it comes to major international competitions throughout the world. However, there has been an alarming dip in the quality of the Ghanaian national team and this resulted in the team failed to qualify for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. If Ghana had reached the tournament, they would have created a record of reaching the World Cup in succession as they were a strong presence at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Back then,Kwesi Appiah became the first local coach to help the national team reach the finals of the competition.
Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti has hailed Kwadwo Asamoah as the complete player after he made the switch from Juventus. The Ghana international joined the San Siro outfit on a free transfer after his contract expired with the Old Lady and he has since penned a three-year contract with the club.
He said: “Why can’t we do well this year? We’ll manage to build a team that’ll allow us to be on the heels of the strongest teams. Taking into consideration our new arrivals and the work put in by the club, there is now a different appeal as to why players want to come to Inter.Asamoah is a complete player, he's perfect for sides who want to make steps forward. He already knows what to do.”
Ghana League Club Association (GHALCA) boss Kudjoe Fianoo has shocked the football community when he resigned from an interim five member committee set up by the government. The committee was tasked with overseeing the football administration in the country as part of a restructuring attempt.
Fianoo explained that he opted to separate himself from the activities of the committee to avoid possible conflict between the association he chairs and the work of the said committee. He was appointed the general secretary of the committee that included Abedi Pele, three-time African Player of the Year. Football legend Rev. Osei Kofi, journalist and lawyer Eva Okyere were also members. The committee was chaired by the chairman of the Local Organizing Committee of CAN 2008 Dr Kofi Amoah.
Schalke 04 manager Domenico Tedesco has hinted that Chelsea loanee Baba Rahman could make an appearance for the club before the close of the 2017/18 season. The Ghana international has not featured for the German outfit since sustaining a serious knee injury in January 2017 and he could still make a strong comeback with another year left on his loan contract.
Speaking to reporters, Tedesco confirmed that Rahman has returned to full fitness after his lengthy absence from the game and he is hoping to have the Ghanaian involved at the earliest possibility, he said:"Baba is getting better and the stability of his knee is looking good. He's completing a lot of sessions."
Ghana international Jordan Ayew believes Swansea City have enough quality within their ranks in order to preserve their Premier League status for another season. The Welsh outfit are currently 17th in the league standings with 33 points and they have three more games left before the end of the campaign.
A disappointing qualifying campaign that produced just one win from six matches ensured Ghana would not be taking part in this summer’s World Cup tournament in Russia.
As the Black Stars now turn their attention to Africa Cup of Nations qualification, which continues in September, five other African nations (Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco, and Tunisia) have a World Cup to look forward to. But which nation will prevail as the continent’s leading representative?
Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal is pleased that the club can welcome Jordan Ayew back into the starting line-up after serving the final game of his three-match suspension. The Ghana international received his marching order during the 0-0 stalemate against Huddersfield Town last month, and since then, the Swans have gone through a period of 340 minutes, where they have scored a single league goal.
Speaking ahead of the Everton game, he said: “We are very happy that Jordan can play because he is one of the best attacking players in the Premier League right now. He’s a very important player to us and he makes a massive difference when he plays. He thinks different than others. Jordan is a player with pace and he’s a player that keeps the ball very well. He’s a player that’s very good one-to-one.Losing a player like this does make a massive difference. The three games without him, of course, we’ve missed him.”
West Ham United manager David Moyes has stressed that it was the right decision to sell Andre Ayew back to Swansea City despite the forward starring for the Welsh outfit last weekend. The Ghana international returned to the Liberty Stadium after an unfruitful 18-month spell at the London Stadium, and he has since found his mojo.
Writing in his column on Evening Standard, Moyes feels it was the right choice to sanction Ayew’s sale in January, as the attacker was not fully focused on the job at hand with the Hammers.He said: “Andre Ayew did well enough for Swansea but don’t forget that he didn’t want to stay. At the time we weren’t that keen to lose anyone to our competitors but he made it 100 per cent clear he did not want to be at West Ham any longer.”
Aston Villa managed Steve Bruce admitted that the club missed the services of Albert Adomah during Saturday's Championship defeat to Fulham. The Villains had come into the game with the perfect league record in 2018, but they could not find the breakthrough versus their west London counterparts.
Ghana international Adomah has been the Villains' top-scorer this term with 13 goals in the Championship, and Bruce admitted that the absence of the 30-year-old alongside Jack Grealish hampered their chances of continuing their winning run, which lasted for seven matches.
Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 are reportedly looking to sign Chelsea full-back Baba Rahman during the current transfer window. The Ghana international suffered a gruelling knee injury during an African Cup of Nations versus Uganda in January 2017, and he has since been on the sidelines.
In this period, Blues boss Antonio Conte has opted to sign the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Davide Zappacosta, who are capable of providing back-up to Marcos Alonso in the left wing-back spot whilst Kenedy has also been used with good effect in the Cup competitions this term.
