With just 20 days left to the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, players are putting themselves in shape and making strong cases for national team call-ups for the Mundial.
There were 46 Black Stars players in action across the globe over the weekend with 5 different players finding the back of the net.
Below are the general statistics.
Number of Players: 46 – includes all players invited by Otto Addo during his reign as Ghana’s head coach.
Starters: 25 starters
Full-timers: 19
Off the bench: 7
Unused: 7
Not in the squad: 3
Clubs not in action: 4
Scorers: Inaki Williams, Augustine Okrah, Joseph Paintsil, Thomas Partey, & Daniel Afriyie Barnieh.
Defender Daniel Amartey started in a three-back system for Leicester City who slipped to a 1-0 home defeat against new Premier League leaders Manchester City. Kevin De Bruyne’s 49th-minute free-kick condemned the Foxes to their first win in 4 games.
Crystal Palace managed a 1-0 win over Southampton to move 10th on the EPL table. Salisu Mohammed was booked in the 40th minute and lasted the entire period of the for Saints. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Schlupp started in central midfield for Patrick Vieira’s men while Jordan Ayew was introduced in the 63rd minute to replace Eberechi Eze.
Wing-half Tariq Lamptey climbed off the bench to play the last 17 minutes of regulation time plus added time for Brighton who whipped Chelsea 4-1 at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
Deputy captain Thomas Partey scored a stunning goal for Arsenal when they dismantled Nottingham Forest 5-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Both Andy Yiadom and Baba Rahman were in action for 90 minutes for Reading when they lost 2-1 against table-toppers Burnley.
In League One, Jojo Wollacott conceded 4 goals as he manned the post for Charlton Athletic in their 4-4 draw with Ipswich Town.
In France, Left-back Gideon Mensah was a full-timer for Auxerre in their 1-0 home win over AC Ajaccio on Sunday. Either side finished the game with 10 men.
Attacker Kamaldeen Sulemana was unused by Stade Rennes in their comprehensive 3-0 home win over Montpellier.
Elsewhere in the German Bundesliga, Chelsea loanee Callum Hudson-Odoi climbed off the bench to play the last 13 minutes for Bayer Leverkusen who were dismissed 2-0 by RB Leipzig. Hudson-Odoi has been rumoured to be part of Otto Addo’s provisional squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, in Spain’s La Liga center-back Joseph Aidoo played at the heart of defence for 10-man Celta de Vigo who were trounced 3-1 at Almeria.
In other games, Abdul Mumin warmed the Rayo Vallecano bench in their shocking 1-0 away win over Sevilla. The 24-year-old is one of the defenders under consideration by the Black Stars technical team.
Central midfielder Baba Iddrisu Mohammed played full throttle for Real Mallorca when they were held to a 1-1 drawn game by Espanyol on Friday night.
Inaki Williams scored the only goal of the game Athletic Club and lasted 82 minutes for the Basque club in their victory over Villarreal on Sunday.
Denis Odoi replaced Tojan Buchanan in the 83rd minute as his Club Brugge side won 4-2 against KV Oostende on Saturday in the Belgian top-flight league. Former Leicester City attacker Kamal Sowah lasted the entire period for the Blue and Blacks.
Anderlecht posted a 4-2 win over KAS Eupen in the top-flight league on Sunday afternoon. Midfielder Wakaso Mubarak played the first 45 minutes for the losers while goalkeeper Abdul Manaf Nurudeen was an unused substitute. Midfielder Majeed Ashimeru played the full 90 minutes for Anderlecht who are 10th on the league log.
Elisha Owusu made an injury return to play 75 minutes for KAA Gent in their 1-1 away draw at OH Leuven.
Goalkeeper Richard Ofori watched from the bench as his Orlando Pirates side suffered a 1-0 home reverse against visiting Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday in the PSL.
Left-back Dennis Korsah was in action for Hearts of Oak who crawl from behind to beat Gold Stars 2-1 at the Accra Sports Stadium in the Ghana Premier League on Saturday.
Left-back Montari Kamaheni was missing in action for Ashdod when Maccabi Haifa beat them 3-1 in Israel on Saturday.
Jonathan Mensah and Yaw Yeboah were free from action as the MLS is not currently in session.
Ajax Amsterdam were not involved in Eredivisie action during the weekend thus no football for Kudus Mohammed.
Captain Andre Ayew wasn’t in action for Al Sadd due to the break of the Qatar Stars League.
Forward Felix Afena-Gyan was unused by bottom club Cremonense who frustrated Udinese to a 0-0 draw in the Serie A. The 19-year-old has played just 141 Serie A minutes this season.
Christopher Antwi-Adjei lasted 72 minutes for Bochum when they lost 4-0 at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Central midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh was introduced in the 69th minute by Freiburg who edged Schalke 04 2-0 in their own backyard on Sunday afternoon.
Defender Stephan Ambrosius lasted 81 minutes for Karlsruher in their 1-0 away loss to Hannover 96.
Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer came off the substitute bench to help Hamburg SV to win 3-2 against Paderborn.
In Bundesliga II, Okyere Kwasi Wriedt played the entire 90 minutes for Holstein Kiel when they slipped to a 2-1 home loss against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Joseph Paintsil scored and assisted a goal for his Genk side who beat KV Mechelen 3-1 on Friday.
18-year-old Abdul Fatawu Issahaku was not included in the Sporting CP when they suffered a 1-0 away loss at Arouca in the Portuguese top-flight league.
Antoine Semenyo played 72 minutes for Bristol City who drew 1-1 with Swansea City in the Championship.
Injured Benjamin Tetteh watched from the screens as his Hull City side slipped to a 1-0 loss at Blackburn Rovers.
Darmstadt held St Pauli to a 1-1 drawn game and attacker Braydon Manu Marvin played the entire period of the game for Darmstadt.
Edmund Addo was not part of the Sheriff Tiraspol side that secured a 2-1 win over Dacia Buiucani in the Moldovan league.
Goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi conceded his 21st goal of the season as he manned the post for St Gallen in their 1-0 loss to Winterthur in the Super League on Sunday.
Augustine Okrah scored and assisted a goal for Simba when they annihilated Mtibwa Sugar 5-0 in the Tanzanian Ligi Kuu Bara.
Winger Osman Bukari was dropped to the Red Star Belgrade bench as they managed a 2-0 away win over Kolubara in the Serbian top-flight league.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh scored from the spot for the Ghana U23 in their 2-0 home win over Mozambique in the U23 AFCON qualifiers.
