John Paintsil reveals why Akonnor has dropped Mubarak Wakaso for Mali friendly

Former Black Stars defender, John Paintsil has disclosed the reasons that might have resulted in the exclusion of midfielder Mubarak Wakaso in the 23-man squad released by CK Akonnor for the Black Stars next month’s friendly against Mali.

According to the ex-Fulham right-back, there is no way Akonnor will drop Wakaso without informing him since he is a senior player in the squad presently.

After releasing his 23-man team for Ghana’s international friendly game against Mali in Turkey on October 9, many have questioned the omission of
the Jiangsu Suning midfielder, Mubarak Wakaso.

Sharing his opinion on the possible reasons why Wakaso might have been dropped, John Paintsil said:

“For me, I think there’s something we need to change a little with regards to our national call-ups. When the head coach is naming his squad there has to be a press conference so that the media can get the opportunity to ask why certain players are missing and report to the public the way it was discussed at the press, ” he told Hello FM.

“Wakaso is a key player in the team so there is no way the coach will not speak to him before releasing the list. With the experience I have, I know that the two of them have talked about it and Wakaso has agreed to reasons why he is not in the team because he is not injured. The coach knows he’s performing as well.

“Unless he’s not in the plans of the coach or the coach wants to look at new players since it’s a friendly match because Wakaso is a senior player.

“There are some matches the coaches give respect to certain players by telling them they want to try different players at their positions so that in case they are not around they will quickly fit in.

“I think they might have discussed something like these that is why he’s not in the team, ” he concluded.