Chris Hughton Announces First Black Stars Squad for AFCON Qualifiers Against Angola

Former Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton has announced his first squad as coach of the Ghana senior national team, Black Stars ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Angola this month.

The Black Stars are set to host Palancras Negras at the Baba Yara Sports stadium on Thursday, March 23, before travelling to Luanda on March 27 for the reverse fixture.

The 25-man squad is dominated by players who were part of Ghana's World Cup squad in Qatar last year. However, Hughton has also included some notable additions to the team, such as Joseph Paintsil and Joseph Wollacott, who missed the tournament due to a broken finger.

Meanwhile, Baba Rahman has been dropped due to an injury problem, and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, who has been a regular in the squad, was not invited.

Ghana are joint top of the Group E table with four points from two games following a 3-0 win over Madagascar and a 1-1 draw with Central African Republic in June last year. Hughton will be looking to build on these positive results and guide his team to a successful campaign in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Here is the full squad:

Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati Zigi (FC St. Gallen), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen), Joseph Wollacott (Charlton Athletic)

Defenders: Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion), Denis Odoi (Club Brugge), Gideon Mensah (Auxerre), Patrick Kpozo (Sheriff Tiraspol), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton FC), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg)

Midfielders: Thomas Partey (Arsenal FC), Majeed Ashimeru (RSC Anderlecht), Abdul Salis Samed (Lens), Edmund Addo (Spartak Subotica)

Wingers: Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Osman Bukari (Red Star Belgrade), Joseph Painstil (Genk), Kamal Deen Sulemana (Southampton FC), Ransford Yeboah Königsdörffer (Hamburger SV)

Forwards: Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam), Andre Ayew (Nottingham Forest), Kamal Sowah (Club Brugge), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Antoine Semenyo (AFC Bournemouth)