The quest for Ghana’s U-23 team to be strengthened ahead of 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been undermined after Black Stars duo Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer have pulled out of the Black Meteors squad.
The strikers were initially a part of Ibrahim Tanko’s preliminary 29-man roster for the competition. Ghana’s goal is to finish among the top three teams at the AFCON in order to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Three Black Stars players, namely Kamaldeen and Ransford-Yeboah, were billed to join the Black Meteors following their participation in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match against Madagascar on Sunday, June 18. Ernest Nuamah, the other player, was also scheduled to join the U-23 squad. However, it has been made known that Tanko’s team for the Moroccan tournament will no longer include Kamaldeen and Ransford-Yeboah.
In the match against Madagascar, Kamaldeen made an appearance for Ghana and played for 62 minutes before being replaced by Nuamah. On the other side, Ransford-Yeboah opted out of the game. According to reports, the two players are not particularly excited about taking part in the Meteors’ tournament campaign.
Additionally, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) was unable to convince their clubs to release them so that they could participate in the competition, which was not approved by FIFA. Nuamah, on the other hand, had participated in the qualifying matches with the Black Meteors and made a huge impact, contributing assists in both of the matches against Algeria. Nordsjaelland was persuaded to release him for the competition by him.
After the departure of the Southampton and Hamburg forwards, the Black Meteors’ head coach is left with a group of 27 players from whom to choose the final lineup.
Before the competition begins, Nuamah is anticipated to go to Morocco to join the rest of his teammates. The tournament will begin on Saturday, June 24, and Ghana has been placed in Group A with the hosts Morocco, Guinea, and DR Congo.
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