Black Stars head coach Otto Addo is ruing left full back Baba Rahman’s absence in the Black Stars in the wake of announcing his squad for upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Ghana is billed to play against Mali on June 6 in Bamako and Central African Republic (CAR) at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on June 10 with the Black Stars in dire need of wins after stuttering early in the qualifiers.
The Black Stars beat Madagascar but lost 1-0 to Comoros to rank fourth in Group I standings with three points heading into the double header next month.
However, Baba Rahman won’t feature in the games after not being named in the 26-man squad and according to Otto Addo, the PAOK player wasn’t ready to make himself available after getting booed by fans in Kumasi against CAR prior to the 2023 AFCON.
“At the moment, he is not ready to come back. What happened in Kumasi affected him and his family a lot. We would have need him very much.
I had a long talk with him and I even wanted to fly there but he was sure he wouldn’t change his mind.”
Rahman won the Greek Super League in his first season with PAOK. Black Stars captain Andre Dede Ayew was shockingly not named in the squad. (Click highlighted text to read full story)