Difficult decisions in difficult times. Ghana coach Otto Addo is in trouble ahead of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers. He is currently fourth in Group 1, with Comoros, Mali and Madagascar all ahead. The main reason is that the Black Stars have only one defeat and one win after two games, so the upcoming matches against Mali (June 6th) and Central African Republic (June 10th) could be crucial. But Otto Addo decided to up the pressure a bit more by excluding his captain from the list.Breaking: 🇬🇭 Andre Ayew misses out on the Black Stars callup. It’s only the fifth time in the past 6 years that he’s missed out on the squad. The team have a 25% win rate without the Black Stars captain since 2018. pic.twitter.com/fZ6I1NSrfx— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) May 29, 2024 It’s not about injury or suspension, but obviously form. How else can he explain the omission of André Ayew? The Black Stars captain and current Le Havre player was not on list and Addo explained why. “I had a long talk with Andre. Personally, I visited him and gave him the reasons why he is not in the squad at the moment. I usually heard it like this don’t talk about those in the squad. For me I can say I don’t like to give information out about what we spoke about. At the moment, Andre is a living legend of Ghana. It’s unbelievable what he did for the country and It’s the most difficult decision because I like him as a person and also as a player. And this is a decision we took not like we totally agreed but I gave him the explanation so I don’t want to take it to another extent and say something for people to write about” explained Otto. The squad will begin their training camp on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at the Legon Stadium, where they will train for six days before departing for the crucial encounter in Mali.Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St Gallen), Jojo Wollacot (Hibernian FC), Frederick Asare (Asante Kotoko)Defenders: Gideon Mensah (AJ Auxerre), Ebenezer Annan (FK Novi Pazar), Mohammed Salisu (AS Monaco), Jerome Opoku (Istanbul Basaksehir), Abdul Mumin (Rayo Vallecano), Alexander Djiku (Fenerbahce Istanbul), Alidu Seidu (Stade Rennes), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion).Midfielders: Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United), Ernest Nuamah (Olympique Lyon), Salis Abdul Samed (RC Lens), Ibrahim Sulemana (Cagliari Calcio), Edmund Addo (FK Radnicki Nis), Thomas Partey (FC Arsenal), Elisha Owusu (AJ Auxerre), Abu Francis (Cercle Brugge).Forwards: Osman Bukari (RS Belgrade), Issahaku Abdul Fatawu (Leicester City, loan from Sporting CP), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Ibrahim Osman (FC Nordsjaelland), Kamaldeen Sulemana (FC Southampton), Brandon Thomas-Asante (West Bromwich).##NAJAVA_MECA_8130320##
