Gyan excluded from Akonnor’s 23-man squad for AFCON qaulifiers

Black Stars coach, C.K. Akonnor, has selected 23 players to face Sudan in a back-to-back qualifier for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Four locally based players are in the squad dominated by foreign players, a break in the convention of the all-foreign-based players’ team of the past.

The conspicuously missing name from the list was Ghana’s all-time goalscorer Asamoah Gyan.

Ghana has a double game against Sudan. The team will square up against Sudanese in the first leg at Cape Coast on March 27, before travelling for the second leg in Omdurman on March 31.

Swansea’s 30-year-old midfielder, Andre Ayew, has been maintained as the captain of the squad.

Ghana is on top of Group C with six points after two games. Other group members South Africa and Sudan are on three points each, while Sao Tome and Principe have no points.

Below is the list of players selected:

Goalkeepers:

Richard Ofori (Maritzburg United, South Africa), Razak Abalora, (Azam FC, Tanzania) Richard Atta (Hearts of Oak)

Full-backs:

Kwadwo Amoako (AshantiGold), Andy Yiadom (Reading, England), Gideon Mensah (Zulte Waregem, Belgium)

Centre-backs:

Nicholas Opoku (Amiens, France), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo, Spain), Kassim Nuhu (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Habib Mohammed (Asante Kotoko)

Midfielders:

Mubarak Wakaso (Jiangsu Suning, China), Alfred Duncan (Fiorentina, Italy), Iddrisu Baba (RCD Mallorca, Spain), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Mohammed Kudus (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark)

Wingers:

Christopher Antwi-Adjei (Paderborn, Germany), Tariq Fosu (Brentford FC, England), Samuel Owusu (Al Fayha FC, Saudi Arabia), Andre Ayew (Swansea City, England)

Forwards:

Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace, England), Richmond Boakye Yiadom (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Eugene Ansah (Hapoel Ra’anana, Israel), Yahaya Mohammed (Aduana Stars)