Rwanda welcomes the Black Queens of Ghana in a 2024 WAFCON first leg qualifier that will take place at Kigali Pele Stadium on September 20. The winner of the two-legged tie will play either Namibia or Gambia for a place at next year’s WAFCON finals which will be held in Morocco. Ghana coach Nora Hauptle, a Swiss trained tactician has named her squad for the game in Kigali. The only absentee in her squad is Appollon Ladies of Cyprus midfielder Olivia Anokye. Of the 23 players summoned, 19 are foreign based players while Alhassan Adama of the Army Ladies, McCarthy Kerrie of Kumasi Sports Academy, Nyamekye Stella of Dreamz Ladies, and Amponsah Mary of Ampem Darkoa Ladies are the only local players who made it in the squad. Key Players Princella Adubea Adubea leads the attack of the Black Queens of Ghana. She is a deadly striker who scores goals for fun. She plays for Kiryat in the Kazakhstan Women's League where she has netted 17 goals in 23 games since 2022. Adubea previously played in Spain for Real Sociedad as well as Recreativo Huelva Ladies. She is skilful and strong on the ball and she is mainly deployed as a centre forward. Adubea is also a dead ball expert as she can sense the back of the net from free kicks. The 24-year-old forward won the Sports Writers Association of Ghana female player of the year award in 2016 and 2017. Portia Boakye Boakye is the skipper of the Ghanaian women national team. The 34-year-old star is a left footed utility player who can play anywhere on the field but she is mostly used as a number 10 in the national team behind Adubea. Boakye plies her trade in FC Djurgarden women in Sweden where she is among their key players. Gifty Assifuah Her surname Assifuah rings a bell in people's ears. The 23-year-old striker is the junior sister of 2013 World Cup U20 top scorer Ebenezer Assifuah. A striker for Lithuanian side FC Zalgris, Assifuah is a proven goal scorer who has previously excelled in clubs such as Hasaacas Ladies in Ghana and Antalyaspor in Turkey. She is a versatile attacker and can operate anywhere across the frontline due to her pace and eye for goal. ALSO READ: WAFCON: Qualifiers Nyinawumuntu names squad for Ghana clash Coach Nora Hauptle and her tactics Hauptle was first appointed as the Technical Advisor of the Ghana Women U-20 team before she was later handed the Black Queens job after Mercy Tagoe was sacked in January 2023. She holds a UEFA Pro Licence certificate and has previously worked as an Instructor for the Swiss FA. Hauptle, 40, previously coached the Israeli Women's national team and SC Sand in the German Women's Bundesliga. Since taking over in January, Ghana has played five games under her tutelage scoring 24 goals without conceding any. The Black Queens have beaten Senegal, Niger, Guinea, and Benin. Hauptle prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation with her arrow head Princella Adubea doing most of the damage upfront. She also likes seeing her two midfielders sitting in front of the back four to move the ball quickly to the attacking players so that the opponent cannot put pressure on them. Arrival Date Ghana will land in Kigali on Sunday, September 17, three days to the game. Full squad Goalkeepers: Cynthia Konla- Al Hilal (Sudan), Salifu Safiatu - Yanga Princess (Tanzania) and McCarthy Kerrie- Kumasi Sports Academy (Ghana) Defenders: Linda Eshun- Reykjavikur (Iceland), Justice Tweneboaa- Kazygurt (Kazakhstan), Janet Egyir- Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel), Adama Alhassan- Army Ladies (FC), Anasthesia Achiaa- Beylerbeyi FC (Turkey) and Susan Ama Duah - Avaldsnes FC (Norway). Midfielders: Abambila Ernestina (Hakkarigucu Spor, Turkey), Grace Asantewaa - FC Juarez (Mexico), Evelyn Badu- Avaldsnes FC (Norway), Azumah Bugre - IFK Norrkorping (Sweden), Jennifer Cudjoe - FC Nordsjaelland (Norway), Stella Nyamekye - Dreamz Ladies (Ghana) and Alice Kusi- Fenerbahce (Turkey). Attackers: Adjei Vivian (Ferencvaros, Hungary, Acheampong Grace (Biiz Kazygurt, Kazakhstan), Princella Adubea (Kiryat Gat, Kazakhstan), Amponsah Mary (Ampem Darkoa Ladies, Ghana), Assifuah Gifty (Zalgris, Lithuania), Boaduwaa Doris ( Spartak Subotica, Serbia) and Portia Boakye ( Djurgarden women, Sweden).
