AFCON Fantasy is here and the FPL Manual shares his thoughts on Ghana’s national football team, their best players to consider, and predicted XI for AFCON 2024.
Team Profile
- Name – Ghana
- Nickname – Black Stars
- Current World ranking – 61st (11th in Africa)
The Black Stars of Ghana has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982) and finished as runner-ups on five occasions. However, these accolades seem to be a thing of the past as current performances say otherwise. The last AFCON 2021 was quite abysmal with the Black Stars knocked out of the Group C finishing bottom of the table. The 3-2 defeat to Comoros will be indeed a game to forget.
Ghana’s Road to AFCON
On 7th Sept 2023, Ghana officially booked their tickets to Côte d’Ivoire for a 24th AFCON participation after a 2-1 win against C.A.R. With three wins and three draws in six games, The Black Stars finished 1st in Group E of the AFCON qualifiers scoring eight, conceding three goals.
Ghana’s Top AFCON Qualifier Performers
- Mo Kudus – 3 goals
- O Bukari – 2 goals
- A Semenyo, E Nuamah, F Afena-Gyan – 1 goal each
Kudus is the star man here and he is on a few direct freekicks. Andre Ayew is the pen taker when he is available for selection.
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Ghana Team News
Official Ghanaian Team going to Ivory Coast
Dropped/Omitted players: Baba Rahman, Fatawu Issahaku, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Edmund Addo etc. Thomas Partey misses out due to injury. Richmond Lamptey could make his debut for Ghana.
🚨Our #BlackStars for the AFCON 👊🏾
🤵♂️ Head Coach Chris Hughton has selected 27 players for the upcoming TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire 🇬🇭⚽️ #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Fr1RTs4UPw
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) January 1, 2024
A few Ghana fans/journalists are unhappy with Chris Hughton’s selection, especially in bringing Ransford to the squad. Others see making the Round of 16 to be the top target. Baba Rahman opting out from the squad seems a bit complex around the G.F.A. but I won’t cover that here.
Injury update: Chris Hughton says Kudus had a small injury while Inaki Williams seems to need a rest after suffering from a mild condition. Other missing Ghanaian players are listed below
🇬🇭Ghana Black Stars are going to be missing some real talents ahead of the #AFCON23 😢⭐️ pic.twitter.com/U3L45SWFSF
— Bortey 🇬🇭 (@joelbortey) January 1, 2024
Meanwhile, Andre Ayew is on the verge of setting a record for most AFCON appearances.
Ghana Probable Lineup
Since his official appointment on 12/2/2023, the manager Chris Hughton sticks more with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Considering the injured/missing players out, this could be how the Black Stars lineup going forward. Partey will really be a big miss in the midfield.
A Ghanaian fan @Flairinho21 revealed that Hughton could go for this – “4-2-3-1/4-4-2 turning into a 3-2-5 in possession probably with Amartey-Salisu-Seidu back three, (Abdul Samed) Salis and Majeed(Ashimeru)/Elisha (Owusu) double pivot, Gideon Mensah and Jordan(Ayew)/(Osman)Bukari holding the width, Kudus RHS, (Ernest) Nuamah/(Jordan) Paintsil LHS and Inaki (Williams) up top. ”
Note: RHS – Right Halves, LHS – Left Halves.
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Best Ghana AFCON Fantasy Assets
Nailed Players
Mohammed Kudus (9.5m), J Ayew (6m)
Fairly Nailed (play 70+ mins or start 2/3 group games)
G Mensah (4.5m), A Seidu (4.5m), I Williams (7.5m)
Rotation Risk
A Semenyo (5m), A Ayew (5.5m)
Not sure who Chris Hughton will trust in goal as the manager tends to rotate keepers at will.
Summary
Even with not-so-exciting news around the Ghanaian team. When there is a will, there is a way. The Black Stars are still tipped to do well this AFCON 2023 campaign and get to the latter stages. I really won’t be considering any fantasy assets besides Mo Kudus for now.
You can find additional AFCON 2024 Fantasy resources here.
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