FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Ghana announce 25-man provisional squad that will travel to India

Whats the story?

Ghana has announced their provisional 25-man squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to take place in India next month. 'The Black Stars' finished as runners up in the U-17 African Cup of Nations or the CAF African U-17 Championship as it is also called to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

In case you didn't know...

Ghana are two-time winners as well as two-time runners up of the prestigious tournament. The last time Ghana won the U-17 World Cup was in 1995 edition of the tournament which was held in Ecuador in which they beat a popular Brazil team that had stars like Juan and Julio Caesar.

The heart of the matter

The infamous head coach Paa Kwesi Fabin who was caught in a controversy in 2015 for fielding an overage player which caused the team to serve a ban, has now definitely redeemed himself. He seems to have earned his reputation back by pulling the strings of this young and energetic Ghana side and taking them into the U-17 World Cup.

The players he has chosen in his squad are as follows;

Goalkeepers: Michael Acquaye (Wafa), Ibrahim Danlad (Asante Kotoko), Kwame Aziz (Mandela Soccer Academy)

Defenders: Bismark Terry Owusu (Mandela Soccer Academy), Najeeb Yakubu (New Town Youth), Rashid Alhassan (Aduana Stars), Gideon Mensah (Right to Dream Academy), Abdul RazakYusif (FC Tanga), Gideon Acquah (Accra United), John Otu (Dreams FC),

Midfielders: Isaac Antah (Accra Young Wise), Mohammed Iddriss(Cheetah FC), Gabriel Leveh (Tema Youth), Isaac Gyamfi (New Life FC), Emmanuel Antwi (Charity FC) ,Mohammed Kudus (Right to Dream Academy), Sulley Ibrahim (New Life FC), Emmanuel Toku (Cheetah FC), Edmund Arko Mensah (Wa All Stars), Richard Danso (Wafa), Ibrahim Sadiq(Right to Dream Academy),Rudolf Blagogee (FC Mamobi) Evans Sarfo (Asokwa Deportivo)

Forwards: Eric Ayiah (Charity Stars), Mohammed Aminu (Wafa)

What's next?

Ghana will kick off their campaign against Colombia on 6th October at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi in a 5 pm kickoff. They have been drawn in Group A which includes hosts India, CONCACAF Runners-up USA and South American representatives, Colombia. All of Ghana's three group games will take place in New Delhi.

Author's take

Ghana were rampant in the U-17 African Cup of Nations scoring the highest number of goals in the group stages which included a 4-0 win over Cameron and a 5-0 win over Gabon. It may also be noted that they were the only team in the tournament to not concede a single goal in the group stages.

Young and quick, this Ghana side will be one team to watch out for. The Ghana Government is also reportedly considering flying out fans from the country to India to watch and support the team, so expect a huge support for the team, if the decision materializes.