The Al Sadd star has been named to the Black Stars 29-man squad for pre-World Cup friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua in 2022.
The games provide Ayew with the opportunity to close in on Gyan's record of being the country's most-capped player.
The 32-year-old has 106 caps, trailing only Gyan (109).
Black Stars coach Otto Addo is expected to use his best players in the two important friendlies, so Ayew will most likely play 108 games.
If Ayew appears in both games, he will be one appearance away from equaling Gyan's record.
With another friendly against Switzerland scheduled for November before the World Cup, in which Ghana will play at least three games, Ayew will break the record before the end of the year.
Ayew made his debut for Ghana as a teenager in 2007 and worked his way up to captain the four-time African champions.
Ayew has 23 goals to go along with his 106 appearances.
With 10 goals, he is Ghana's all-time leading scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Since his appointment as captain in 2019, Ayew has shown exemplary leadership that should be emulated.
When things go wrong, Ayew accepts responsibility and during games, he is constantly seen encouraging his teammates.
“I’ve always had pressure, expectancy to deliver and lead – ever since I was a kid,” Ayew said in 2020.
Ayew led Ghana to become the first and only African country to win the World Cup at the U-20 level.
It is still his greatest accomplishment, and it motivates him to aim for the main World Cup.
Ayew will captain Ghana in Qatar, where the Black Stars will attempt to become world champions.
Ghana are in a difficult group with Portugal. Uruguay and South Korea.
Black Stars will begin their campaign against Portugal on November 24 before facing South Korea four days later.
The African giants' final group game is against Uruguay, which Ghanaians see as a golden opportunity to avenge their quarter-final loss in 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment