Stars to play Bafana in pre-AFCON friendly

Ghana’s Black Stars will play against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a pre-2019 AFCON international friendly in Abu Dhabi next month.

Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah, made the disclosure in a chat with the Daily Graphic yesterday.

The South Africa friendly is one of two high profile friendlies lined up for the senior national team during their three-week training camp in the United Arab Emirates next month.

According to the Stars coach, the two matches are scheduled for June 10 and June 15, while the second opponents are yet to be confirmed.

The South Africans, who won their sole AFCON title as hosts in 1996, are also expected to camp in Dubai ahead of the Egypt 2019 AFCON.

The Black Stars will leave for Abu Dhabi on June 1 and later fly to Egypt for the tournament on June 20.

Ghana will play the Squirrels of Benin in the opening Group F match on June 25.

Meanwhile, a provisional list of 30 players will be released by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Tuesday, May 21.

A source close to the team told to the Daily Graphic yesterday that Coach Appiah would submit the provisional squad to the GFA on Monday, May 20.

While the list still remains under wraps, there are strong indications that the UK-based trio of Christian Atsu, Jordan Ayew and Andy Yiadom will secure their places in the team.

The Daily Graphic’s investigations revealed that the England-based players had been asked to maintain their shape for the AFCON once the English Premier League is over, while Coach Appiah monitors the other European leagues this weekend before firming up his provisional squad.

Another sure bet is skipper Asamoah Gyan who has fully recovered from injury and was on target twice for his Turkish side, Kayserispor, last weekend.