Head coach of the Black Stars, Otto Addo, has named his 26-man squad for Ghana’s two games in the upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Mali and Central Africa Republic with captain Andre Ayew missing out.

The announcement was made at a press conference on Wednesday morning at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) headquarters.

Though the 34-year-old had been in a fine form for his club in the latter part of the season scoring 6 goals in 19 appearances in the 2023/2024 season, he has not been included in the squad.

Though Andre Ayew is fit, Otto Addo during the announcement said “I had a long talk with Andre when I visited him and gave him the reasons why he’s not in the squad. At the moment, I usually had it like this that I don’t talk too much about the players who are not in the squad but more about those in the squad.

“He’s not part of the squad at the moment and Andre is a living legend of Ghana, where he has reached is unbelievable. It was a difficult decision to be honest because I like him as a person and also as a player but this is the decision we took and like I said, its not like we totally agreed, but I gave him the explanation,” he explained.

Meanwhile, some notable players including Inaki Williams, Joseph Painstil, Baba Iddrissu, Denis Odoi, Majeed Ahimeru and Daniel Amartey all missed out due to injury while Baba Rahman has not expressed the intention to return to the national team.

However, Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey made a return to the squad after he recovered from an injury that kept him out for months.

Ghana will first travel to Bamako to face Mali on June 6, before playing against Central Africa Republic back home on June 10.

See full squad:

Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati Zigi, Wollacott, Frederick Asare.

Defenders: Gideon Mensah, Ebenezer Annan, Mohammed Salisu, Jerome Opoku, Abdul Mumin, Alexander Djiku Alidu Seidu, Tariq Lamptey

Midfielders: Mohammed Kudus, Ernest Nuamah, Abdul Salis Samed, Ibragim Sulemana, Thomas Partey, Edmund Addo, Elisha Owusu Abu Francis.