Ghana has five new players who are now qualified for World Cup duty.
Ghana’s national team added five fresh recruits four months before the World Cup, making them eligible to compete in Qatar.
- Tariq Lamptey of Brighton had represented England Under-21s
- Stephan Ambrosius of Hamburger SV and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer of Athletic Bilbao had both represented Germany Under-21s
- Athletic Bilbao forward Iaki Williams had played one friendly for Spain, where he was born, six years ago
- Patric Pfeiffer, another German-based player, plays forward for Darmstadt
All five have changed their nationalities to play for the Black Stars of Ghana, according to the Ghana soccer organization on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Ghanaian soccer organization claimed that the decision “Follows exhaustive engagements between the leadership of the (federation), the players and their parents in the last few months,”
NOTE
FIFA eligibility rules let nations to select players from their international diaspora in specific circumstances. If a player never participated in a competitive match for the first nation they were qualified to represent, they may change their allegiance to a new national team.
