Has Afriyie Barnieh 'gatecrashed' Ghana’s starting team against Portugal?

Black Stars coach Otto Addo earlier mentioned that his selection for Ghana's first game in the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Portugal will be largely influenced by the performance of the players in the friendly game against Switzerland.

This statement according to many might have played a role in the sterling performance of some players who were given the opportunity to start the pre-World Cup friendly.

Two second-half goals from Salisu Mohammed and Antoine Semenyo were enough for the Black Stars to beat Switzerland to boost their confidence ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Elisha Owusu, Salis Samed, Tariq Lamptey, Salisu Mohammed, and Antoine Semenyo were some of the standout players in Ghana's 2-0 win over Switzerland but among all of them, the man who stole the headlines was Hearts of Oak's Daniel Afriyie Barnieh.

Rated 8 by GhanaWeb's scorecard, the Black Meteors striker who lasted 62 minutes in the game did not only impress the public and the media with his performance but his teammates with Mohammed Kudus openly expressing his admiration for the talented forward.

His runs down the right side for Ghana in the first half created headaches for the Swiss defense who struggled to deal with the former Under-20 forward.

Many believe that Barnieh has justified himself by taking full advantage of the opportunity given him in the game against the Swiss.

But did Barnieh do enough to warrant a starting place in Ghana's first game against Portugal?

The Black Stars will play against Portugal in their opening Group H match on Thursday, November 24, 2022, at Stadium 974.