<<Print>>

Black Stars shot-stopper Adam Kwarasey, back in action after being sidelined with injury, says he expects tonight�s international friendly against Turkey in Istanbul to serve as an appropriate dress rehearsal for Ghana�s important World Cup qualifier against Zambia in Kumasi next month. �It is going to be a difficult game. Turkey is a good team. They have a very strong league and a lot of good players playing across Europe,� Kwarasey said after the team�s first training session last Monday. �We should just use this game to prepare for the Zambia match in September. �We should try to have a good match and get positive experience ahead of that match. We shouldn�t focus too much on the result. We should just get ourselves ready.� New boy, Yusif Rahman Chibsah, is also relishing the chance to make his debut appearance for the Black Stars in tonight�s match and is confident he would make the best of the opportunity and fight for a regular place in the team. One of three new players (including Spain-based goalkeeper Razak Braimah and Emmanuel Banahene) invited by Coach Kwasi Appiah, Chibsah looked into the future with great expectations after his first training with the national team yesterday morning, saying he couldn�t wait to work his way to becoming a major pillar. "It's an opportunity which the coach has given me so I have all the confidence in myself that I can make it better and make it good. I am just praying that I have a little bit of chance to show Ghanaians what I can also do to help the national team. "I expect to be one of the major players in the Black Stars," said the 20-year-old Parma midfielder. "It's my dream and I am working very hard towards it. I know by the grace of God, I am going to be one of the pillars of the Black Stars in two to three years to come." Coach Appiah had a first assessment test for new imports, Braimah and Chibsah during last Monday�s training session at the Atat�rk Olympic Stadium and is expected to hand the two youngsters their debut international appearances tonight for further assessment of their potential. "It's [friendly matches] always a good time to have a look at new players and get them to know how we work. The team needs to have options and bringing on new players gives us something new," Appiah told www.ghanafa.org. The Stars arrived in Istanbul last Monday without Sanliurfaspor striker Emmanuel Banahene and Middlesbrough�s Albert Adomah, both of whom were ruled out of the game due to injury and club commitment respectively. Banahene, who was expected to play his first match for the Stars in Istanbul, was hit by a last minute injury, while Adomah has been excused to help him settle at his new club. The Stars are also without AC Milan midfielder, Sulley Ali Muntari, who is yet to formally write to the coach to apologise for unruly conduct after he was substituted in the Ghana-Lesotho game. The player was reported to have confronted the coach openly over his substitution. Despite introducing fresh faces to the squad, the coach is not expected to make any major changes in his starting line-up which would have goalkeeper Fatau Dauda as his number one, despite being inactive at his new South African side, Orlando Pirates. Ghana Squad Goalkeepers: Fatau Dauda (Orlando Pirates, South Africa), Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Razak Braimah (Guadalajara, Spain) Defenders: Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), Samuel Inkoom (Dnipro, Ukraine), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege, Belgium), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Rashid Sumaila (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa), Mohammed Awal (Maritzburg United, South Africa) Midfielders: Rabiu Mohammed (Evian, France), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Solomon Asante (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Mubarak Wakaso (Espanyol, Spain), Christian Atsu (Porto, Portugal), Yusif Chibsah (Parma, Italy) Strikers: Dominic Adiyiah (Arsenal Kiev, Ukraine), Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Mahatma Otoo (Hearts of Oak).