Former Ghana international Habib Mohammed believes that players who played in qualifiers are not guaranteed to make the final World Cup squad and that the final decision is up to the coach.
Black Stars coach Otto Addo is yet to make public his provisional squad which he submitted to FIFA on October 21, 2022. According to reports, Addo named a 35-man squad that will be reduced to 26 for the tournament.
There is high expectation for players who competed in the qualifiers to be named to the final list for the upcoming tournament in Qatar, but Mohammed thinks otherwise.
Using himself as an example, the former King Faisal and Kotoko left-back revealed that he missed the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, but was selected because then-coach Ratomir Dujkovi was impressed with his performances in two pre-tournament friendlies.
“I didn’t play in the World Cup qualifiers [in 2006], but before the tournament, I played two friendlies and impressed coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who included me in the squad.
“It’s not compulsory that because you participated in qualifiers you have to go to the World Cup. The final decision is made by the coach. Whether or not a player competed in qualifiers, the coach decides who goes to the World Cup,” he said to Onua Sports.
Mohammed appeared in two games for Ghana at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, helping the country reach the knockout stages for the first time.
They hope to advance to the knockout stages for the third time this year in Qatar, where they have been drawn into a difficult group with Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay.