Ghana World Cup squad 2022: Confirmed 26-man squad for Qatar

Kyle Bonn

Ghana World Cup squad 2022: Confirmed 26-man squad for Qatar image

Ghana, one of the five African representatives at the FIFA 2022 World Cup, look primed for an exciting tournament despite being drawn into an incredibly difficult group.

Having failed to reach the 2018 World Cup, the Black Stars, led by former international player Otto Addo, now boast a significant wealth of young talent. However, there's been a fair few challenges along the way as well.

Addo was only appointed earlier this year after the national team made a managerial change in the wake of a disappointing showing at the Africa Cup of Nations. In a turnaround, the new boss helped lead the side to World Cup qualification just two months later, dramatically eliminating African powers Nigeria on away goals in a 1-1 aggregate playoff draw.

Now, the climb is steep as they take on Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in the group stage in Qatar, and hope that they can produce a magic run deep into the tournament like in 2010.

MORE: Ghana's World Cup opponents: Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea

Ghana World Cup squad 2022

Addo was one of the last head coaches to confirm his final 26-man squad to FIFA with key Premier League trio Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew and Daniel Amartey all included.

Find the full roster below: 

Position No. Player Club Age Caps 2022 World Cup
Qualifiers
GK 16 Manaf Nurudeen Eupen (BEL) 23 2 0
GK 1 Lawrence Ati Zigi St Gallen (SWI) 25 10 1
GK 12 Ibrahim Danlad Asante Kotoko (GHA) 19 0 0
DEF 18 Daniel Amartey Leicester City (ENG) 27 43 7
DEF 15 Joseph Aidoo Celta Vigo (SPA) 27 10 2
DEF 23 Alexander Dijku Strasbourg (FRA) 28 18 7
DEF 2 Tariq Lamptey Brighton (ENG) 22 1 0
DEF 14 Gideon Mensah AJ Auxerre (FRA) 24 11 3
DEF 3 Denis Odoi Club Brugge (BEL) 34 4 2
DEF 4 Mohamed Salisu Southampton (ENG) 23 1 0
DEF 17 Baba Rahman Reading (ENG) 28 47 5
DEF 26 Seidu Alidu Clermont Foot (FRA) 22 2 0
MID 20 Mohammed Kudus Ajax (NED) 22 16 6
MID 8 Daniel Kofi-Kyereh Freiburg (GER) 26 12 7
MID 5 Thomas Partey Arsenal (ENG) 29 40 7
MID 6 Elisha Owusu Gent (BEL) 25 2 1
MID 7 Fatawu Issahaku  Sporting (POR) 18 11 4
MID 11 Osman Bukari Red Star Belgrade (SER) 23 5 2
MID 13 Daniel Afriyie Hearts of Oak (GHA) 21 5 0
MID 21 Salis Abdul Samed Lens (FRA) 22 0 0
MID 24 Kamal Sowah Club Brugge (BEL) 22 0 0
MID 22 Kamaldeen Sulemana Stade Rennes (FRA) 20 11 5
FWD 25 Antoine Semenyo Bristol City (ENG) 22 1 2
FWD 10 Andre Ayew Al Sadd (QAT) 32 107 5
FWD 9 Jordan Ayew Crystal Palace (ENG) 31 82 7
FWD 19 Inaki Williams Athletic Club (ESP) 28 1 0

WORLD CUP 2022 SELECTED SQUADS:
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon 
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales 

Ghana national team stars, strengths & weaknesses

Ghana head coach Addo has a number of European-based players at his disposal for the 2022 World Cup, giving him a host of stars to select from.

Addo is a German-born former winger who spent time with Borussia Dortmund, Mainz, Hamburg, Hannover and Hamburg during his 16-year playing career, earning 15 caps for the national team. Also on the Ghana technical team is former Premier League manager Chris Hughton, who had spells in charge of Newcastle, Norwich City, and Brighton among other English teams.

They will be hoping to recapture former glories as the Black Stars look to make the knockouts for the third time in their history, after reaching the Round of 16 in 2006 and the quarterfinals in 2010.

Stars

The biggest name in the Ghana squad is Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who will take charge of the middle of the pitch. Partey's presence is a big reason why the Gunners are challenging for the Premier League title this season, and he is in good form heading into the World Cup.

While not big names worldwide, the brothers Andre and Jordan Ayew are major leaders of the Ghana national team. Andre wears the captain's armband and is one of the most-capped players at the tournament.

Strengths

Ghana are very deep defensively, with a number of top players to count on. The leader is Daniel Amartey of Leicester City, who is struggling at the club level but remains a consistent presence for the national team.

Denis Odoi, cast aside by Fulham, is having a strong year at Club Brugge, with solid Champions League performances. Both Amartey and Odoi possess the flexibility to play across the backline.

French-born Alexander Dijku was used often during World Cup qualifying, but his club Strasbourg is struggling defensively in Ligue 1. Southampton's Mohamed Salisu has only just been brought into the national team fold but is one for the future.

The attack is also deep, featuring a host of young talent. 20-year-old Kamaldeen Sulemana and 18-year-old Abdul Issahaku Fatawu are in good form at both club and country, already with double-digit national team caps at their young age. 28-year-old Inaki Williams is also doing well for his club Athletic Bilbao this year and should contribute despite inexperience at the international level.

The Ghana forward group has enough youth and talent to help the Black Stars slowly phase out the veteran Ayew brothers, who will still play a key role at this World Cup.

Weaknesses

While Partey's presence in midfield gives Ghana an edge, the rest of the options behind the Arsenal man are thin.

Daniel Kofi-Kyereh is a useful player but provides little going forward, and has missed some time in the run-up to the World Cup with injuries. Mohammed Kudus is a young talent but plays sparingly for Ajax, mostly coming off the bench.

They are also missing key names through injury with midfielder Iddrisu Babu out and goalkeeping duo Richard Ofori and Joe Wollacott overlooked.

Ghana World Cup group

Ghana were drawn into a very difficult Group H for the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay. Only the top two teams in each group will advance.

That presents a very tall task for Ghana as they go up against a top European side, a top South American side and a difficult Asian squad.

World Cup Group H fixtures and match schedule

Date Match Time (ET) Stadium
Thurs, Nov. 24 Uruguay 0, South Korea 0 8 a.m. Education City Stadium
Thurs, Nov. 24 Portugal 3, Ghana 2 11 a.m. Stadium 974
Mon, Nov. 28 South Korea vs. Ghana 8 a.m. Education City Stadium
Mon, Nov. 28 Portugal vs. Uruguay 2 p.m. Lusail Stadium
Fri, Dec. 2 South Korea vs. Portugal 10 a.m. Education City Stadium
Fri, Dec. 2 Ghana vs. Uruguay 10 a.m. Al Janoub Stadium

WORLD CUP GROUP BREAKDOWNS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H

Can Ghana replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final 26-man roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup can only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules, "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."

The team in question would need to submit a medical report to FIFA and if the world governing body determines "the injury or illness is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the FIFA World Cup" then the replacement will be allowed. 

The replacement player must come from the preliminary list of players submitted to FIFA in October. 

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.