Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo has apologised to the players left out of the 26-man squad for the World Cup but insists his decisions are in the best interests of the team.
The announcement of the squad on Monday saw the exclusion of a number of big names, including Joseph Paintsil, Majeed Ashimeru, Jeff Schlupp and Mubarak Wakaso.
Goalkeepers, Joseph Wollacott and Richard Ofori, as well as midfielder, Iddrisu Baba also missed out after they picked up injuries with their club sides.
Speaking after he listed the players who made the cut, Otto Addo expressed his sympathy for the ones who didn’t make it into the final squad.
He stated that his desire to have a balanced squad for the tournament left him with some tough decisions to make.
“I want to have a well-balanced team and sometimes this brings me to difficult decisions. There were some very close decisions and I’m very sorry to those who couldn’t make it to the team due to injuries or due to my decision,” he said.
Otto Addo added that he was well aware of the task at hand and picked a team he felt could compete in Qatar.
“Surely, I have the last word because I know how I want to play. It’s a pity but this is football and this is the job I took, and I have to do it well. I have to do everything well just to serve the country and to bring the best possible squad onto the pitch.”
Addo initially named a 55-man provisional squad, leaving 29 players out of the final list.
Take a look at the players left out of the team from the original 55-man list
Richard Ofori, Joseph Wollacott, Andy Yiadom, Patrick Kpozo, Ibrahim Imoro, Dennis Korsah, Abdul Mumin, Jonathan Mensah, Stephan Ambrosius, Kasim Adams, Iddrisu Baba, Edmund Addo, Mubarak Wakaso, Majeed Ashimeru, Mudasiru Salifu, Joseph Paintsil, Jeffrey Schlupp, Mohammed Dauda, Ernest Nuamah, Yaw Yeboah, Emmanuel Gyasi, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer, Samuel Owusu, Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Joel Fameyeh, Felix Afena-Gyan, Kwasi Wreidt, Caleb Ekuban, Richmond Boakye