Ghana U20 defender Aaron Essel was handed his first-ever senior debut start in the Black Stars' 2-1 loss to Nigeria in the 2025 Unity Cup.
Essel, who was a member of the Black Satellites team that suffered an elimination from the quarter-final stage of the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations, received a surprise call-up to the Black Stars by Coach Otto Addo following the unavailability of his stars in defense.
The 19-year-old was handed a starting role against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the semi-final game of the 2025 Unity Cup at the Gtech Community Stadium.
However, with Ghana trailing 2-0 inside the opening half-hour, he was forced off after picking up an injury and was replaced by Ebenezer Annan in the 29th minute of the game.
The North Texas FC guardsman is expected to recover from the injury setback ahead of the third-place playoff game scheduled for Saturday.
Ghana will be battling it out with Trinidad & Tobago in the third-place playoff on Saturday, while Nigeria play Jamaica in the 2025 Unity Cup final.
