Sports
Ghana Names 27-Man Squad For Nigeria
Ghana’s interim Coach, Otto Addo, has named his 27-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff against Nigeria.
The two West Africa heavyweights are scheduled to meet in the first leg at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Friday with the second leg scheduled in Nigeria on Tuesday.
Among the players included in the team is defender Daniel Amartey, who plays for Leicester City in England, midfielder Iddrisu Baba of RCD Mallorca, and his Arsenal counterpart Thomas Partey.
Captain Andre Ayew misses out owing to the red card he got in the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations finals held in Cameroon.
Goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott is expected to start in goal ahead of Orlando Pirates shot-stopper Richard Ofori, while Gideon Mensah might marshal the defence alongside Amartey.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew would be hopeful of leading the line.
The Black Stars are aiming at performing well in the final round of World Cup qualifiers after a poor outing at AFCON, where they were knocked out in the group stage after failing to win a match.
The squad’s full list includes,
Goalkeepers: Joseph Wollacott (Swindon Town -England), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (KAS Eupen -Belgium), Lawrence Ati Zigi (St Gallen -Switzerland), Richard Ofori (Orlando Pirates -South Africa).
Defenders: Denis Odoi (FC Brugge -Belgium), Andy Yiadom (Reading FC -England), Gideon Mensah (Bordeaux -France), Dennis Korsah (Hearts of Oak -Ghana), Montari Kamaheni (Ashdod FC -Israel), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City -England), Joseph Aidoo (Bordeaux -France), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg -France), Abdul Mumin (Victoria Guimaraes -Portugal).
Midfielders: Iddrisu Baba (RCD Mallorca -Spain), Edmund Addo (FC Sherif -Moldova), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam -Holland), Elisha Owusu (KAA Gent -Belgium), Thomas Partey (Arsenal -England), Daniel Kofi Kyereh (FC St. Pauli -Germany).
Wingers: Issahaku Abdul Fatawu (Sporting CP -Portugal), Osman Bukari (FC Nantes -France), Joseph Paintsil (KRC Gent -Belgium), Yaw Yeboah (Columbus Crew -USA).
Strikers: Felix Afena Gyan (AS Roma – Italy), Christopher Antwi-Adjei (VFL Bochum), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace – England), Kwasi Wriedt (Holstein Kiel -Germany)
Meanwhile, Nigeria has suffered a major blow ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualification play-off as Maduka Okoye has been ruled out due to illness.
According to a statement made available to news men by the Nigeria Football Federation, the Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper is ill and will not be available against the Black Stars in Kumasi.
Meanwhile, coach Augustine Eguavoen has invited Enyimba goalkeeper John Noble as a replacement, with Cyprus based Francis Uzoho now in pole position to man the goalposts against the West Africans.
Noble was one of the four goalkeepers that made the three-time African champions’ list to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Okoye’s absence will come as a massive setback to the country’s preparations due to his impressive performances for his Dutch Eredivisie outfit.
For ex-Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju, the news has not shaken his faith in Nigeria’s ability to qualify for the World Cup and is upbeat about the ability of Eguavoen’s men.
“There is no cause for alarm man. Super Eagles will still get the job done because we have the quality. #SoarEagles,” tweeted the former Real Madrid player in response to a tweet confirming the development.
In a related development, 18 of the 25 invited players have arrived at The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments.
Expected later yesterday were Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Zaidu Sanusi, Akinkunmi Amoo, Samuel Chukwueze, and Almeria’s Sadiq Umar.
Leicester City’s Ademola Lookman was billed to join the rest of the team this morning.
Friday’s first leg will be the 58th clash between the two countries at senior level.
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.