Anthony Baffoe believes Mohammed Kudus is now the superstar in the Black Stars team ahead of Thomas Partey and Andre Ayew.

The former Ghana defender sees the West Ham United attacking midfielder as the face of the team ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Baffoe said this after the AFCON group stage draw held in Ivory Coast to determine the groups.

He explains that Ghana’s group is tricky but the quality of players at Chris Hughton’s disposal is enough to seal qualification.

“It’s a very tricky group with Egypt who are a strong team with a leader Mohamed Salah. We have Cape Verde who have been uncomfortable for us to play. We have Mozambique making it two Portuguese-speaking countries,” Baffoe told the media after the draw in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday night.

With 25 caps for the Black Stars, Baffoe emphasized that Ghana possesses sufficient quality to contend in the tournament next year.

“I’m confident that we will emerge first or second in the group. In our last tournament in Cameroon, we didn’t perform well but generally, we are a tournament team. We still have experienced players like Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew and Mohammed Kudus who is the superstar in the team.

“We are stabilized with our goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi. I have confidence in the team, it’s not going to be easy but I know Ghana will come out of this group. The gap between the teams is becoming closer but we have to be on our toes to do well.”

The 2023 AFCON will kick off on January 13 and conclude on February 11, 2024.