Ghana have qualified for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after their 1-1 draw against South Africa in Johannesburg on Thursday evening.

Mohammed Kudu’s early second-half goal was cancelled by Percy Tau’s strike as the Black Stars settled for a draw to seal qualification with one game left in the qualifying group.

Both teams had a very physical first half but couldn’t find the net in the first 5 minutes of play.

Mohammed Kudus opened the scoring three minutes into the second half after a display of individual brilliance and a very great finish to put Ghana in front, but the lead lasted for only three minutes as South Africa equalized through Percy Tau who shot past Razak Abalora after a fine move.

Black Stars will face Sao Tome and Principe in the last qualifiers group game in Accra on Sunday.

The post Ghana qualify for AFCON after draw in South Africa first appeared on Sahara Football.

The Black Stars will depart Accra for Johannesburg on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 for the match-day five Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.

Twenty players are currently in camp in Accra with six others expected to arrive from Europe this evening.

Baba Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Kudus, Osman Bukari, Nicholas Opoku, Emmanuel Lomotey and Kwasi Okyere Wriedt will team up with the rest of the squad Monday tonight. Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Richard Ofori will also join his colleagues in Johannesburg Tuesday night.

Captain Andre Ayew, forward Jordan Ayew, and midfielder Thomas Teye Partey who will not be part of the contingent to South Africa will join the squad later for the final game against Sao Tome and Principe.

Ghana will play South Africa on Thursday, March 25 in Johannesburg, before hosting Sao Tome and Principe in Accra.

The Black Stars sit at the top of Group C with 9 points after four games are in search of a ticket to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.



The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Richard Ofori (Orlando Pirates – South Africa), Razak Abalora (Asante Kotoko – Ghana), Eric Ofori Antwi (Medeama SC – Ghana), Danlad Ibrahim (Asante Kotoko- Ghana)

Full Backs: Baba Abdul Rahman (PAOK – Greece), Benson Annan (MLK Zilina – Slovakia), Philemon Baffuor (Dreams FC – Ghana), Imoro Ibrahim (Asante Kotoko)

Central Defenders: Nicholas Opoku (Amiens SC – France), Ganiyu Ismael (Asante Kotoko – Ghana), Joseph Adjei (Legon Cities), Yussif Mubarik (Asante Kotoko)

Central Midfield: Kudus Mohammed (Ajax Amsterdam – Holland), Mubarak Wakaso (Jiangsu Suning F.C – China), Afriyie Acquah (Yeni Malatyaspor – Turkey), Emmanuel Lomotey (Amiens SC – France), Gladson Awako (Great Olympics -Ghana), Kwame Afriyie Poku (Colchester United – England)

Left Attacking Midfield: Osman Bukari (Gent – Belgium), Joseph Esso (Dreams FC- Ghana)

Attackers: Emmanuel Boateng (Dalian Professional- China), Emmanuel Gyasi (Spezia – Italy), Kwame Opoku (Asante Kotoko – Ghana), John Antwi (Pyramids FC – Egypt), Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (Willem II – Holland), Caleb Ekuban (Trabzonspor – Turkey)

The post Black Stars depart Accra Tuesday for AFCON qualifier against South Africa first appeared on Sahara Football.

Black Leopards of South Africa have announced the signing of former Hearts of Oak coach Kosta Papic just a few days after leaving his post at the Accra-based club, the club announced via their social media handles.



Kosta Papic left Hearts of Oak after falling out with players and management of the club.

https://twitter.com/lidodaduvha/status/1362406470621528074?s=24

The Serbian trainer joins Black Leopards as a Technical Manager.

The post Ex Hearts of Oak coach Kosta Papic joins Black Leopards of South Africa first appeared on Sahara Football.

The Ghana Football Association has written to CAF requesting for a change in venue for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications fixture against South Africa.



The Bafana Bafana were scheduled to take on the Black Stars on 21 March 2021 in South Africa in round 5 of the qualifiers.

Due to the spike in the COVID-19 cases in South Africa, the Ghana FA is requesting the match to be played in a different country.

The Ghana FA sent the letter to Africa’s football governing body last week and is awaiting a response.

Ghana and South Africa are tied on 9 points at the top of the standings in Group C after four matches with two games left.

Sudan are on the 3rd position with 6 points whereas Sao Tomé and Principe languish bottom with no win.



credit:Ghanasoccernet

The post Ghana FA requests for neutral venue for AFCON qualifier against South Africa first appeared on Sahara Football.

The Black Stars were handed another South African challenge following Tuesday’s draw by the Confederations of African Football in Egypt.

The Black Stars are already in the same qualifying group with South Africa for the 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Ghana defeated South Africa 2:0 in the opening match of the 2021 Afcon qualifier in Cape Coast in November last year and with the return encounter yet to be played, the latest draw renews the growing rivalry between Ghana and South Africa.

Tuesday’s draw saw 40 African countries placed into 10 groups of 4 countries and only the ten group winners will advance to the 3rd and final round of qualifiers.

At the final round, the ten group winners will be split into two and  paired for a two-leg, home and away encounters.

Winners of the two-leg matches will qualify to the World Cup in Qatar.

The post Ghana to face South Africa in 2020 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers first appeared on Sahara Football.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has named a strong starting line up, including debutants Baba Idrissu and Gideon Mensah, for the AFCON 2021 qualifier against South Africa tonight. 

Iddrissu, who is enjoying a good season in La Liga with Real Mallorca, will play alongside Thomas Partey and Alfred Duncan and Andre Ayew in midfield.

In defence, Andy Yiadom and Gideon Mensah will play at the right-back and left-back positions respectively, with Kassim Nuhu and Joseph Aidoo in the center.

Goalkeeper Richard Ofori maintains his position between the sticks as Jordan Ayew and Emmanuel Boateng play upfront.

Below is the full line up:

Richard Ofori Andy Yiadom Gideon Mensah Joseph Aidoo Kassim Nuhu Iddrisu Baba Dede Ayew (C) Thomas Partey Alfred Duncan Jordan Ayew Emmanuel Boateng.

The post AFCON 2021 Qualifiers: Ghana Black Stars starting lineup against South Africa first appeared on Sahara Football.

A number of fans at Cape Coast marched into the Stadium on Tuesday night to watch the Ghana Black Stars train ahead of their AFCON Qualifiers game against South Africa game.

The fans at the Cape Coast Stadium sang @Thomaspartey22’s name after last night’s training session. pic.twitter.com/aKAvIotiWR

— Clinton Eleto (@ClintonEleto) November 13, 2019

Kwesi Appiah and his team held their second training session as they prepare to host South Africa on Thursday at the Cape Coast stadium.

https://twitter.com/ghanafaofficial/status/1194543325887508481

Fans trooped in to serenade, support and watch the team prepare for the AFCON qualifiers game.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports announced on Wednesday morning that the ticket prices have been reduced, prices for “popular stand” for Thursday’s Afcon 2021 qualifier with South Africa at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium has been reduced from 10 Cedis to 5 Cedis. The VIP will go for 20 Cedis.

The post PHOTOS: Fans troop in to watch the Black Stars train ahead of South Africa clash first appeared on Sahara Football.

Ghana midfielder Mubarak Wakaso has suffered a fresh injury which will rule him out of the Black Stars’ international assignments against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe this month.



The Deportivo Alaves midfielder suffered a fracture in the metacarpus of his right hand, which saw him miss the 4-2 defeat to Osasuna on Sunday in La Liga.

The 29-year old will undergo surgery today to determine the extent of the injury and how long he will be out.

The swashbuckling midfielder has been a mainstay in manager Asier Geratino’s side this season, missing just a single game through suspension.

The injury to Wakaso means he will miss the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe.

The ex-Villareal man had a good nations cup in the summer, where he was twice adjudged man of the match as the West Africans bowed out at the group stages.



credit: Ghanasoccernet

The post BREAKING: Mubarak Wakaso to miss start of AFCON qualifiers through injury first appeared on Sahara Football.

Ghana’s Black Stars will begin camping in Cape Coast on November 10, 2019, ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa. 

The will be the Stars second game to be played at the Cape Coast Stadium which is located in the Central Region in Ghana. 

The game is likely to be played under floodlights, according to reports with kick offset at 7 pm. 

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has named his 23-man squad for the doubleheader ahead of the qualifiers with seven debutants invited.

The invited players are expected to join the team after the FIFA International break.

credit: ghanasoccernet

The post AFCON 2021: Black Stars to begin camping on Nov 10 first appeared on Sahara Football.

Black Stars Head Coach Kwesi Appiah has named a 23-man squad for two 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifying matches to be played next month.

Ghana will host Bafana Bafana of South Africa at home on Thursday 14th November 2019 at the Cape Coast Stadium, before traveling to São Tomé and Príncipe to face them on Monday 18th November.

Coach Appiah has handed call ups to a number of players including former Hearts of Oak midfielder Torric Jibril, Spain based duo Iddrisu Baba and Mohammed Salisu, as well as German-based Christopher Antwi Adjei.

Captain Andre Ayew, Mubarak Wakaso, Jordan Ayew, Richard Ofori, Felix Annan and Andy Yiadom, who were all in the Black Stars squad that featured in the last AFCON tournament in Egypt, have all been named in the squad with Harrison Afful also making a return to the squad.

The Black Stars are expected to begin training in Cape Coast from Monday 11 November 2019 with the team expected to hold one training session a day.

The Black Stars are in Group C of the qualifiers alongside South Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Sudan for the tournament which will be staged in Cameroon in 2021.



Black Stars squad for AFCON 2021 qualifiers against South Africa & São Tomé and Príncipe:

GOALKEEPERS: Richard Ofori (Maritzburg FC, South Africa), Felix Annan (Asante Kotoko, Ghana), Razak Abalora (Azam FC, Tanzania)

DEFENDERS: Andy Yiadom (Reading, England), Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew, USA), Lumor Agbenyenu (Real Mallorca, Spain), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo, Spain), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo, Spain), Kassim Nuhu (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Nicholas Opoku (Udinese, Italy), Mohammed Salisu (Real Valladolid, Spain)

MIDFIELDERS: Samuel Owusu (Al Fahya, Saudi Arabia), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Alfred Duncan (Sassuolo, Italy), Mubarak Wakaso (Deportivo Alaves, Spain), Iddrisu Baba (Real Mallorca, Spain), Christopher Antwi-Adjei (SC Paderborn, Germany)

FORWARD: Andre Ayew (Swansea, England), Mohammed Kudus (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Emmanuel Boateng (Dalian Yifang, China), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace, England), Torric Jibril (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Shafiu Mumuni (Ashantigold)

GFA COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.



source:Ghana FA

The post OFFICIAL: Kwesi Appiah names Black Stars squad for AFCON Qualifiers against South Africa and Sao Tome an Principe first appeared on Sahara Football.