Stephen Appiah will be in Mali Squad

Stephen Appiah will be in Milovan Rajevac’s squad for Ghana’s two World Cup qualifiers in June but unlike in previous games the Black Stars captain is by no means guaranteed a starting place.

The Serbian will arrive in Accra on Thursday evening after a tour of Europe and America to check up on Ghanaian players before meeting GFA officials on Friday with his list of players for Ghana’s 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Mali on June 7 and Sudan in Omdurman on June 20.

Rajevac has penned down those two games as six-pointers in his bid to send Ghana to another World Cup and is keen to pick his best squad.

That best squad the Serbian reckons cannot be without Appiah who has been a Black Stars member for the last year despite being without a club throughout the period.

He has played a part in all four of Ghana’s World Cup qualifiers since September and KickOffGhana.com understands he will have a place in the party that will travel to Bamako for the game in the first week of June.

But with the return of midfielder Laryea Kingston and the emergence of Udinese’s Kwadwo Asamoah who Rajevac has watched at least twice over the last month, Appiah may be forced to settle for a role on the bench rather a starting place.