Stephen Appiah: Former Ghana Captain Claims He Was Lucky to Make 2010 World Cup Squad

• Legendary Ghanaian midfielder, Stephen Appiah, has recounted what led to his inclusion in the Black Stars squad for the World Cup in 2010
• The former Ghana captain was named in the team for the tournament as Ghana reached the quarter-finals in South Africa
• The four-time African champions were on the brink of becoming the first African country to reach the semi-final when Luis Suarez denied Dominic Adiyiah the winner

Former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah, has opened up on his inclusion in the Ghana squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Appiah surprisingly made the Black Stars team for the tournament despite being out for several months due to an injury which also ruled him out for the Africa Cup of Nations that same year.

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The ex-Juventus star ended up playing a role as Ghana became the third African country to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup.

He was one of the players who converted their spot kicks as the West African nation agonisingly suffered a 4-2 penalty defeat to Uruguay.

According to the 43-year-old, he was lucky to have been included in the squad, claiming an injury to a teammate contributed to his trip to South Africa.

“In 2010, I was lucky to be part of the team. If Agyemang-Badu was okay, maybe I wouldn’t have been part of the 2010 World Cup which would have been difficult,” Appiah told 3 Sports, as quoted by 3 News.

His comment comes after the decision of Ghana coach Otto Addo to drop captain Andre Ayew from his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic.

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Appiah believes a good balance of experience and new players will help the Black Stars achieve its goal of qualifying for the World Cup.

“You can have senior players in the team and if you let them understand that this time there are certain good players in the team but be around you may get either 20 or 10 minutes which depends on how you train,” continued Appiah.

“When some of the players see senior players in camp, they won’t even think of misbehaving. So we have to know how to handle senior players in the national team.”

Appiah made 69 appearances for the Black Stars, scoring 16 goals before retiring from international football, per Transfermarkt.

Asamoah Gyan offers Ayew advise

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Asamoah Gyan reacted to the news of Andre Ayew's exclusion from the Black Stars team for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers this month.

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Black Stars coach, Otto Addo, named a 26-man squad for the games against Mali and the Central African Republic with the Le Havre talisman.

Ayew's absence has raised several questions, especially following his form in the just-ended season in Ligue 1, where he netted five goals with his acrobatic kick goal against Lorient nominated for Goal of the Season.