Players from 2014 World Cup team whose Black Stars career might be over
GhanaWeb Feature
In our previous article as part of GhanaWeb's coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we gave you a list of players who featured in Ghana's last appearance at the Mundial in 2014 who could still make Otto Addo’s squad to Qatar.
Andre Dede Ayew, Jordan
Read full articleAyew, Jonathan Mensah, Mubarak Wakaso, Christian Atsu, and John Boye are the six players who were part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad and could still make it to Qatar in November.
In today's episode of the World Cup count down, we bring you five players who have played in the Mundial before but might never get a chance back into the team though they have not officially announced their retirement from international football.
The players who are on this list have been out of the Black Stars for a minimum of three years and they don't seem to be in the plans of coach Otto Addo per what we have seen in the past four months since the Borussia Dortmund assistant coach took over from Milovan Rajevac.
Here is a list of 5 players who have not retired but might never get a Black Stars call-up again.
To many Ghanaians, Kevin-Prince Boateng is an opportunist who only used the Black Stars to climb the ladder in his footballing career.
For a player who was set to join Portsmouth from Tottenham Hotspurs, Kevin-Prince Boateng got a turnaround in his career with a move to giants AC Milan after a World Cup appearance with the Black Stars.
The 35-year-old attacker retired from the Black Stars ahead of the 2012 and 2013 AFCON but rescinded his decision to retire to come and play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil which didn't end for him.
He hasn't been part of the Black Stars again though he hasn't officially retired from the team as he did after the 2010 World Cup.
Kevin has been looking for a way back into the team as some people around the player called for his return when he joined Barcelona ahead of the 2019 AFCON but then coach Kwasi Appiah closed the doors for his return.
With the arrival of Inaki Williams and Ransford Yeboah, and the availability of Jordan Ayew, Andre Ayew, Felix Afena Gyan, and Kamaldeen Sulemana, Kevin-Prince Boateng will certainly not get a call-up again.
Asamoah Gyan
The all-time top scorer for the Ghana national team and Africa's leading scorer at the World Cup has been missing in action for the Black Stars since the 2019 AFCON.
While some people continue to call for his return to the team, others have also advised him to retire from the game, especially after his unsuccessful stint in the Ghana Premier League.
Asamoah Gyan on numerous occasions has said that he is not ready to retire as he works toward his fitness despite not being on the books of any club.
He didn't play any part in the World Cup qualifiers and will be a big miracle if he makes the trip to Qatar as part of the squad though there have been calls for the GFA to add him to the officials.
Sulley Muntari
He is Ghana's second top scorer at the World Cup together with Andre Ayew and hasn't been part of the Black Stars since he was sacked from the team's camp after a scuffle with Management Member, Moses Armah Parker.
Sulley Muntari despite apologizing for his indiscipline act but has been ignored by the previous Black Stars coaches.
Calls from fans and other opinion leaders for him to be included in the Black Stars became loud after his performance for Accra Hearts of Oak in the just-ended Ghana Premier League season.
However, Otto Addo however didn't succumb to the calls as he named his call-up for the FIFA World Cup playoffs and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers without Sulley Muntari.
And with the pool of talents available in midfield for Otto Addo to choose from, it most certainly looks like Sulley Muntari's national team career ended in Brazil.
John Boye
He has been the most criticized Ghana defender since joining the Black Stars having committed a series of defensive blunders and scoring important goals in major tournaments.
John Boye became a public target after the 2014 World Cup following pictures of him, kissing the $100,000 appearance bonus cash.
He has made 68 appearances and has scored 5 goals but he hasn't been part of the Black Stars after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
John Boye is not part of Otto Addo's plans per what we have seen in the last three months and has not been part of the Black Stars after the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.
The arrival of Mohammed Salisu, Patric Pfeiffer and Stephan Ambrosius has limited John Boye's chances of getting back to the team because Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, Abdul Mumim, and Joseph Aidoo are all ahead of the former Metz defender.
Fatau Dauda
He is best remembered for how he celebrated after making a save to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring an opener in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Fatau Dauda who was the second-choice goalkeeper ahead of the World Cup made two appearances against Germany and Portugal following coach Kwasi Appiah's decision to bench Adam Kwarasey after the first game against the USA.
He hasn't been a regular member of the Black Stars after the 2017 AFCON despite getting a late call-up to replace Richard Ofori in an international friendly game against Mali and Qatar under CK Akonnor in 2020.
At age 37, it seems there is no way back for Fatau Dauda in the Black Stars as Richard Kingston has Jojo Wallacott, Richard Ofori, Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Lawrence Ati Zigi, Richard Attah, and Ibrahim Danlad as his top six goalkeepers.
Author: Joel Eshun
Also, watch this week's episode of the GhanaWeb Sports Debate in the post below:
Players from 2014 World Cup team whose Black Stars career might be over
