South Africa-based Ghanaian defenders, Kwabena Adusei and Yaw Frimpong, would jostle for a permanent slot in the Black Stars setup after they joined training with their teammates in Casablanca yesterday ahead of the team’s AFCON qualifier against Guinea on Saturday.
Also hoping to stake a claim in the team are youngsters David Accam, Edwin Gyimah, Awal Mohammed and Razak Braimah, whose fleeting appearance on separate occasions rarely convinced former national coach, Kwasi Appiah, they were ripe for a regular place in the team.
However, with stop-gap coach Maxwell Konadu offering them another opportunity, these Stars would want to seize the moment to catch the coach’s eye against Guinea over two legs this month as the team picks up the pieces after a disastrous World Cup campaign in Brazil.
Such was the atmosphere in the Stars camp in Casablanca yesterday that coach Konadu led the players through their paces in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Syli Nationale.
Guinea coach, Michelle Dussuyer, has also named a strong 23-man squad, including striker Ibrahim Traore of Borussia Monchengladbach and Mohamed Lamine Yattara of Lyon to get the job done.
Dussuyer is optimistic they would find favour with the Moroccan fans to rally behind his players in their newly adopted home of Morocco, after CAF placed a ban on football activities in Guinea due to the Ebola outbreak.
Equally determined to make an impression is Coach Konadu, who would expect good results to convince the FA he is ripe to succeed Appiah. And it would be interesting how Konadu motivates his players to recover their confidence and record a second successive away victory, having fallen out of favour with Ghanaian fans following their shambolic World Cup display in Brazil.
