Ghana coach Otto Addo has announced his final 26-man squad for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar, excluding five key players.
The biggest soccer mundial has been scheduled between November 20 and December 18 this year, with 32 countries set to battle it out for the covetous trophy in Qatar.
The Germany-based trainer announcing his squad for the mundial omitted his first and second choice goalkeepers of Jojo Wollacot and Richard Ofori and Baba Iddrisu because of injuries.
Other key players that did not make the final list include, in-form Joseph Paintsil and Jeffery Schlupp.
Wollacot, who plies his trade for English League One club, Charlton Athletic goalkeeper was ruled out of the tournament after picking up an injury on Saturday.
The 25-year-old pulled out of the Burton Albion clash on Saturday after injury to his finger in the warm up.
Since his debut in 2021, Wollacot has featured 11 times for the national team.
Orlando Pirate goalkeeper, Richard Ofori will also not be playing a part for Ghana at the World Cup in the Asian country because of injury setback.
Ofori missed his sides weekend fixture against Kaizer Chiefs in the semifinals of this season’s Black Label Cup tournament.
The goalkeeper will not recover in time before the commencement of the mundial and has therefore been ruled out.
The 29-year-old has made 19 appearances for the Black Stars since making his debut in 2015.
Real Mallorca midfielder, Baba Iddrisu has also been ruled out of the tournament. He picked up injury while in action last Thursday against Atletico Madrid.
After several scans, the tough-tackling midfielder has been ruled out and has been excluded from the final squad for the tournament.
The 26-year-old has featured five times for the national team since making his debut back in 2019.
Joseph Painstil who has been instrumental for KRC Genk has been omitted from the final squad for the mundial.
His exclusion from the list come as a surprise to a chunk of Ghanaians considering his rich vein of form.
Paintsil has featured 6 times for the Black Stars since his debut in 2017.
Crystal Palace star Jeffery Schlupp did also not make the final cut for the biggest soccer mundial despite his fine form with the English Premier League side.
Since his debut in 2011, Schlupp has featured 20 times for the national team scoring 1 goal in the process.
The absence of the aforementioned players come as a huge blow to the technical team of the Black Stars as they seek to make impact at the tournament.
Ghana will open camp in Abu Dhabi on Monday, November 14 before taking on Switzerland on November 17 in a pre-World Cup friendly.
The team is expected to fly Doha on November 19 before their opening game against European powerhouse, Portugal.
Ghana will open their campaign against Portugal on November 24 at Stadium 974 in Doha.
Four days later, the Black Stars return to action with a clash with South Korea at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.
Ghana will wrap up their group stage adventure with their much-anticipated encounter with Uruguay at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.
The Black Stars having missed out in the last edition hosted in Russia in 2018 will be hoping to improve their performance in Qatar after exiting the group phase during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.