Brandon Thomas Asante and Ibrahim Sulemana Handed Debut Ghana Invite Ahead of Mali and CAR Clash

• Two new players have been included in the Ghana squad for the World Cup qualifiers
• Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ibrahim Sulemana will join the Black Stars on Thursday
• Ghana will face Mali and the Central African Republic in June's World Cup qualifiers

Black Stars coach, Otto Addo, has handed two players their debut Ghana invite ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic.

West Bromwich Albion's Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ibrahim Sulemana of Cagliari were included in the 26-man squad for the upcoming games.

Thomas-Asante, a striker is seen as a replacement for Inaki Williams, who was left out of the squad due to injury while Sulemana comes in for Idrissu Baba.

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Both players have been in excellent form for their clubs this season as Thomas-Asante ended the campaign as The Baggies top scorer with Sulemana starring for Claudio Ranieri's Cagliari.

Who is Brandon Thomas-Asante?

Thomas-Asante was born in England to Ghanaian parents and started his career at lower-tier side MK Dons. He went through the various ranks before Ebbsfleet in 2019. During his time at MK Dons, Thomas-Asante also featured for Sutton United and Oxford City on loan.

However, he got his breakthrough when he signed for Salford, spending three years at the club before West Brom came calling in 2022. He has since been the main man for the English Championship outfit. This season, the Ghanaian attacker has netted 11 goals and provided two assists in 39 games, per Transfermarkt.

Despite being born in England, he never made an appearance for any of the national teams.

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Who is Ibrahim Sulemana?

Sulemana's career has seen a meteoric rise following his move from Sunyani to Italy in just three years. Scouted from a club called Sunyani Atalanta, the hardworking midfielder travelled to Italy for trials, where he joined Hellas Verona's U19 side and within a space of a year secured promotion to the first team. He scored to keep Verona in the league in 2023 before earning a move to Cagliari.

He was a key member of Ranieri's team, playing a pivotal role as they secured their stay in the Italian Serie A for another season. He made 21 appearances, scoring two goals for the Red and Blues, per Transfermrkt.

Otto Addo names Ghana squad for qualifiers

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Ghana coach Otto Addo dropped captain Andre Ayew in his latest squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

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The Le Havre star was excluded from the team for the games against Mali and the Central African Republic in June.

In a meeting with the press on Wednesday in Accra, the former Dortmund midfielder expressed delight in making a return to the national team on a full-time basis.