Otto Addo has named his 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this month and, as ever, there are a number of notable absentees. Having whittled down his squad from an original list of 55 players, the Black Stars boss has finally released his squad list, with Danlad Ibrahim, Daniel Afriyie Barnie and Antoine Semenyo the surprise names to make the cut.
Of course, in some cases injury has robbed a handful of players of the chance to get on the plane. First and second choice goalkeepers Jojo Wollacott and Richard Ofori and Mallorca midfielder Baba Iddrisu faced the agony of being told their World Cup dream was over with their respective injuries too severe to justify selection.
But what may be even more heartbreaking for some Ghana hopefuls is being fully fit, enjoying decent campaigns for their clubs and playing under Addo before - only to be dealt a cruel snub from the final list of 26.
Kickgh.com looks at four players who missed out and whether they can feel hard done by at being left out of the reckoning.
Joseph Paintsil
Paintsil is facing the unimaginable situation where he is not deemed good enough to make Ghana’s squad. The ability and potential Paintsil possesses - and his extraordinary spell with KRC Genk - makes it a difficult call to understand.
With competition so fierce in his position, there had to be someone who missed out.In this case, it was Paintsil who is the unlucky loser.
Felix Afena-Gyan
The Cremonese forward is another player to miss out. The issue Addo has with Afena-Gyan is that there does not appear to be a consistent middle ground.
Two wonderful performances against Nigeria during the play-off were enough for the young man to stake his claim in the Ghana team.
He has 1 goal in 7 appearances for the Black Stars. Being overlooked for the World Cup will be a hammer blow to his confidence.
Mubarak Wakaso
Wakaso is a genuine leader with a wealth of experience and has been immense for Belgian side K.A.S. Eupen. The workaholic midfielder and rarely puts a foot wrong and has shown anytime he feature for the Ghana national team.
In a straight toss-up between himself and Salis Abdul Samed, it is understandable that Addo may favour the latter's ability to cover ground and press intensely.
Still, a technician such as Wakaso can conjure moments of magic from nothing - and Ghana could rue leaving him at home.
Jeffrey Schlupp
Schlupp is an exciting player with pace and a wand of a left foot. A glance at his performances for Crystal Palace makes his omission even more painful to take, given that there seemed to be not much else he could do to earn his place.
His versatility alone felt like an attribute Ghana could not afford to turn down.
By: Godfred Budu
