Ghana’s Black Stars moved their preparation for the FIFA World Cup into higher gear yesterday with their first training session in the Dutch city of Arnhem ahead of this weekend’s international friendly with Holland in Rotterdam.
The Stars flew out of Accra last Saturday night without two of their midfielders, Sulley Ali Muntari and Mubarak Wakaso, who was dressed up with the squad, but surprisingly missed the KLM flight at the 11th hour.
According to the GFA website, Coach Kwasi Appiah granted Muntari permission to attend to some family issues and was expected to leave Accra last night for Amsterdam alongside Russia-based Wakaso, who reportedly failed to travel with his teammates after leaving an important travel document at home.
It was during departure formalities that it was noticed he had left the documents behind, which meant he had to spend another 24 hours in Accra before travelling to the Netherlands.
The 22-man squad touched down in Amsterdam yesterday and was later joined by teammate Kevin-Prince Boateng, who was excused by Coach Appiah to skip last week’s non-residential training in Accra in order to attend to personal issues.
A day after defeating a local select side 5-1, the Asamoah Gyan-led squad left Accra full of confidence as they turn their attention to Saturday’s game against the star-studded Dutch team, which features big name players including Arjen Robben, Nigel de Jong and Robin van Persie.
Coach Appiah is expected to be joined in camp today by Muntari, Wakaso and goalkeeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey, who was granted permission to travel to Norway to feature for his club, Stromgodset, to play in a league clash against Rosenberg last Saturday.
Kwarasey, 26, did not take part in the Stars’ 6-1 victory over the Dream Team last Friday because his club had sought the permission of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for his release for the crucial league fixture.
