FIFA U-17 World Cup: India’s Group A rivals Ghana, USA name squads
Ghana and USA are two of the strongest teams in Group A of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Hosts India and Colombia are also in the same group.
India’s Group A opponents Ghana and USA have named a strong 21-man squad for next month’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The Black Starlets boss Paa Kwesi Fabin has strengthened his squad with seven new players who were not part of their campaign in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon.
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Among the squad are seven players from Ghana Premier League clubs with the rest of them playing for lower tier sides.
Ghana, two-time champions at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1991 and 1995, are looking to end their 22-year trophy drought in a tricky group. They are placed in Group A along with hosts India, Colombia and USA.
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For USA, star players Josh Sargent and Tim Weah -- bound for top-flight European clubs -- will lead a 21-member strong United States squad.
The US Soccer Federation has named 17 players who were part of the team that played in the qualifying tournament -- 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in April -- in which it had finished second.
Sargent will sign with Bundesliga (German League) club Werder Bremen next February when he turns 18. He also played at the U-20 World Cup in Korea earlier this year, making him the first US player since Freddy Adu in 2003 to play in the U-20 and U-17 World Cups in the same year.
Weah, son of former FIFA World Player of the Year and Liberia great George Weah, signed with Paris Saint Germain earlier this year.
Ghana Squad: Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Danlad, Michael Acquaye, Kwame Aziz. Defenders: Najeeb Yakubu, Gideon Mensah, Bismark Terry Owusu, Edmund Arko-Mensah, Abdul Razak Yusif, Gideon Acquah, Rashid Alhassan, John Otu. Midfielders: Isaac Gyamfi, Gabriel Leveh, Ibrahim Sulley, Mohammed Kudus, Emmanuel Toku, Mohammed Iddriss. Strikers: Eric Ayiah, Richard Danso, Mohammed Aminu, Ibrahim Sadiq.
USA Squad: Goalkeepers: Alex Budnik, Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin Garces. Defenders: Sergino Dest, Christopher Gloster, Jaylin Lindsey, James Sands, Tyler Shaver, Akil Watts. Midfielders: George Acosta, Taylor Booth, Christopher Durkin, Blaine Ferri, Chris Goslin, Indiana Vassilev. Forwards: Ayo Akinola, Andrew Carleton, Jacobo Reyes, Bryan Reynolds, Joshua Sargent, Tim Weah.