Chris Hughton, the coach of the Black Stars, invited 23 players for this month's international friendly matches against Mexico and the United States of America.
Brighton and Hove Albion defender Tariq Lamptey made a return to the squad as a result of his brilliant start to the season in England. Lamptey had a challenging season last year due to injuries, he had to stay on the sidelines for close to six-months.
In the squad as well is vice captain Thomas Teye Partey who missed the qualifier against Central African Republic due to injury.
The Black Stars of Ghana will take on Mexico at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte early hours of tomorrow, 15 October, before taking on the United States of America on Wednesday, 18 October 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.
𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 🫵🏾
🇲🇽 Mexico 🆚 Ghana 🇬🇭
🏟️ Bank of America Stadium
⏱️ 12:30am GMT#BlackStars | #MEXGHA pic.twitter.com/a8kbm1H8Wc— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) October 14, 2023
Coach Chris Hughton is expected to use the two friendly matches as part of preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers in November and the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote D’Ivoire which comes up in January.
With Arsenal physio spotted in the Black Stars' camp ahead of this friendly, we'll see how much of an impact that makes as the team continues preparations for the tasks ahead.
Here are five new Black Stars players to watch in the friendly against Mexico
Abdul Fatawu Hamid
Medeama SC defender Abdul Hamid Fatawu received only his second call-up to the Black Stars squad ahead of the friendly with Mexico and USA.
In September, Hamid got his first invitation to the Black Stars along with his Medeama teammate Jonathan Sowah and the duo played a part in the team's AFCON qualifier against the Central African Republic and the win over Liberia in a friendly.
He's expected to have minutes also as Ghana takes on Mexico in the early hours of Sunday morning. Hamid is the current newest player in the October international friendly squad.
Ernest Nuamah
Like Kudus, Nuamah is one of the Golden Boys in the Black Stars' set-up. Nuamah made his debut for the national team in the game against Madagascar on 18 June 2023 where he came off the bench.
The Central African Republic match marked his second appearance for the senior national team, and his debut goal was undoubtedly celebrated by fans and teammates alike. He has gone on to score in his third game for the team against Liberia in a friendly.
The Mexico game will mark only his fourth game for the Black Stars as he's the second newest member of the squad.
Inaki Williams
Williams is relatively one of the newest players in the Ghanaian team. In September, 2022 he received his first call-up for friendlies with Brazil and Nicaragua. He made his debut against the former, playing the second half of the 3-0 loss in Le Havre. He was selected in Ghana's squad for the FIFA World Cup and has since been a part of the team.
At the time of writing, the Bilbao forward has played 9 times for the Black Stars and has not scored. He's a player to watch out for in the Mexico friendly and he looks to net his first goal for Ghana.
Tariq Lamptey
Lamptey made his debut for the Black Stars on 23 September 2022, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute. He replaced Denis Odoi in a 3-0 friendly loss against Brazil at the Stade Océane in Le Havre.
On 14 November, Lamptey was named in Ghana's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, injuries hampered his continual place in the Ghana squad having only made 4 appearances for the country.
The current campaign though, has been a good one for the player who has shaken off his injury setbacks to make a return to Chris Hughton's side. Watch out for him against Mexico.
Mohammed Kudus
Kudus has been an inspiration for the team, he's arguably the current face of the Black Stars and has continued his goal-scoring form for both club and country.
The West Ham attacking midfielder has scored 9 goals in 25 appearances for Ghana and is on back-to-back scoring run for the team as he found the net in the last AFCON qualifier against Central African Republic and also the last friendly with Liberia. He's a hot shot to look out for against Mexico.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 weeks ago
