Ghana U23 head coach Desmond Ofei has named his final 23-man squad for the Black Meteors’ 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying tie against Libya, with eight foreign-based players included.
The Black Meteors will travel to Benghazi for the first leg of the two-legged encounter on Wednesday, November 11, as they begin their bid to secure a place at the tournament in Egypt.
Barcelona B youngster Aziz Issah headlines the foreign-based contingent, which also includes David Oduro of Annecy, Oscar Frimpong of Real Madrid II and Aaron Essel of Sacramento Republic FC.
The other overseas-based players are Phyenyin-Denis Marfo of SC Internacional, Lord Afrifa of SC Austria Lustenau, Joseph Opoku of Swansea City and Dan Adu-Adjei of HNK Rijeka.
They will be joined by a strong home-based contingent featuring Hubert Gyau and Emmanuel Sanja of Asante Kotoko, Kelvin Nkrumah of Medeama SC, Alidu Labaran of Vision FC and Raymond Agyemang of Aduana FC.
Ishmael Addo of Heart of Lions, Eric Wiafe of Swedru All Blacks, Owusu Ansah of Port City FC and Firdaus Mohammed of Steadfast FC are also included in the squad.
Ghana will be aiming for a positive result in Benghazi before hosting the return leg, with the winner of the tie advancing to the next qualifying round to face either Equatorial Guinea or Niger.
The qualification series consists of three rounds, with seven teams set to join hosts Egypt for the eight-team 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Black Meteors are seeking to end Ghana’s long absence from men’s Olympic football. The country last competed at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, and qualification for the 2027 tournament would be an important step towards a potential return to the global sporting event.
