Nobody should influence Otto Addo's squad selection for World Cup - Osei Palmer warns

Former Black Stars management member, Wilfred Osei Palmer, has warned that the Black Stars technical team should be given free hands to decide on their squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Palmer suggested that after the coaches are done with their squad, they should be made to explain their decision to select each player. Speaking with Asempa, Palmer said, should Ghana make the right selection, the team will reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. "Nobody should try and influence the technical team led by [Otto Addo] to take decisions that will be challenged later. The coach will have to come and rationalize why I chose this player and not that player. "We should be able to make it to the semifinals, that is if we do the right thing and the selection is on merit." He insisted that not influencing the manager's decision regarding the squad is the only way the team can compete well at the tournament. "It is very important for the team, if we want the Black Stars to perform," he added. However, Otto Addo has assured that there will not be many changes in his final squad for the World Cup because he has 70 percent of the names already. “70 per cent of the players currently on international duty with Ghana’s squad who meet Nicaragua in Lorca, Spain on Tuesday will be in Qatar. The remaining 30 per cent will be tight decisions. We’re watching the players closely for the next few games to see who could play for Qatar in October,” he told German Newspaper, Bild. This means most of the players called up during the September international break have a guaranteed spot in the team for the World Cup. The Black Stars' technical team is expected to present a 35-man provisional squad to FIFA in the final week of October 2022. The provisional list will be trimmed to 26 a week before the start of the competition in Qatar. Watch this week's episode of GhanaWeb Sports Debate below: EE/FNOQ