Ghana Sports
Mohammed Salisu Agrees To Play In Ghana Vrs Nigeria Play-Off – Uncle Reveals
Having suffered a disappointing group-stage exit at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ghana FA is on the lookout to beef the squad with the best talents available.
So far all attempts to get Salisu to play for the Black Stars have proved futile, with the center-back rejecting a call-up to feature at the AFCON in Cameroon.
Speaking on the subject, the player’s uncle said he has informed the family of his decision to finally play for the national team.
“He will be playing for Ghana soon. He has assured us that he will play in the World Cup qualifiers,” Yakubu Ahmed told Kumasi-based Sikka FM, as quoted by Ghanaweb.
“He cleared the air about his absence in the AFCON but assured of availability for the World Cup qualifiers.”
This comes after football administrator Alhaji Karim Grunsah disclosed that Salisu asked him to “stay away” when he tried to convince the defender to play for Ghana.
According to the King Faisal FC owner, he was tasked by the Black Stars management committee chairman to persuade the center-back but his attempts failed.
Salisu is currently one of the best young players in Europe, having made an impressive start to the season at Southampton.
He has taken the Premier League by storm after starring in matches against Manchester United, Arsenal and recently Manchester City.
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Gh Sports
‘I Want To Play Another World Cup’ – Asamoah Gyan
Gyan hasn’t played for the Black Stars since the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and has been blighted by injuries.
The 36-year-old returned to the Ghana Premier League last season after signing for Legon Cities, but rarely played before parting ways with the club after just a year.
Currently promoting his autobiography, titled ‘Legyandary: the story of Asamoah Gyan’, the veteran striker said every player would love to play at the World Cup.
He, however, explained that he is currently not fit enough to play at the highest level, which all but rules out his chances of playing in the tournament.
“Who doesn’t want to play at the World Cup? Every player wants to play at the World Cup,” he said on Citi TV, as quoted by Ghanaweb.
“Yes, I have tasted the World Cup three times and though I would love to play at this year’s World Cup, as I have always said, I am currently not fit enough to play active football but when I Start playing – who knows?”
The former Sunderland and Al Ain forward further revealed that he will be in Qatar for the World Cup as a pundit.
The striker’s book launch will come off on Saturday, April 30, 2022, at the plush Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra.
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Source: GhArticles.com
Ghana Sports
Will Callum Hudson-Odoi Play For Ghana In the World Cup?
Information reaching GhArticles.com from GOAL.com can reveals that Callum Hudson-Odoi is contemplating switching from England to Ghana.
On March 29, Ghana defeated Nigeria in two legs to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 21-year-old hasn’t played for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions in almost two years, and he’s rejected down recent Under-21 call-ups.
Despite winning three caps for England, Hudson-Odoi is still free to switch nationalities.
This follows a FIFA rule change in September 2020 that allowed players with three or less caps to move once they turned 21.
The dual nationality of Hudson-Odoi comes from his father Bismark, who played football for Hearts of Oak in Ghana.
Hudson-Odoi has been to Ghana on vacation recently, in January 2022 and last summer.
When asked whether he was considering switching, he answered, “We will wait till that moment comes.”
Hudson-Odoi has reportedly met with President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Ghana Football Association.
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Source: GhArticles.com
Ghana Sports
All You Need To Know About Chris Hughton
The past week has been dominated by talks over who becomes Ghana’s new head coach. The top job became vacant following the sacking of Milovan Rajevac last Tuesday.
The Serbian coach led the Black Stars to the FIFA World Cup play-offs but supervised one of the country’s worst-ever campaigns during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
A largely disorganised Ghanaian team finished bottom of Group C after drawing with Gabon and losing to Morocco and Comoros.
Two names have so far been mooted as the possible replacements for Rajevac. Chris Hughton is believed to be the government’s choice for the role, but the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is also believed to favour Borussia Dortmund’s trainer scout Otto Addo.
But who is Hughton?
Hughton the footballer
Hughton started as a footballer after coming through the ranks at Tottenham. He was born in Forest Gate, Essex, England to a Ghanaian father, Willie, and an Irish mother, Christine.
At 13, he joined Tottenham’s academy where he rose to become a first-team player. He eventually made his debut for Spurs in the 1977 season. Despite being born in England, Hughton represented the country of his mother, the Republic of Ireland, at international level.
With that, he became the first mixed-race player to represent the Republic of Ireland and went on to play 53 times for the country.
As a full-back, he played for 13 years at Tottenham where he attained cult status, making 297 appearances and scoring 12 goals.
In 1990, Hughton swapped Spurs for fellow London club West Ham United and spent two years with the Hammers before crossing carpets to another London-based club, Brentford.
Hughton the manager
For a man whose playing career revolved around London, he became the caretaker manager of Tottenham after hanging his boots. It was his first managerial job but he showed signs of promise and was kept on for a year.
Hughton went on to serve under different managers at Tottenham and combined his role with being an assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland.
In 2008, Hughton was announced as the first-team coach of Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan. By September that year, he was made caretaker manager following Keegan’s exit.
He was later appointed as Newcastle’s permanent manager after their relegation to the Championship and he guided them to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
The highs and lows
Hughton has since managed Birmingham City, Norwich City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest, in what has been a great managerial career thus far.
And winning Premier League promotion with Newcastle ranks among his best achievements. At Birmingham City, he led the team to the group stages of the Europa League, and guided Norwich City to an 11th-place finish in the 2012/13 Premier League season.
Hughton was also the manager who led Brighton to gain Premier League promotion for the first time in the club’s history and reached the FA Cup semi-final with the Seagulls.
But just like any other manager, the 63-year-old has had his lows. He left Norwich with the club sitting just one place above the relegation zone.
He also left Nottingham Forest in September 2021 after gaining just one point from their opening seven matches in the Championship – the club’s worst start to a season since 1913.
Hughton has been without a club since then and it remains to be seen if he’ll be appointed as the next Ghana coach.
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Source: GhArticles.com