Ghana (Group C)

Ghana have plunged from a position of strong self-belief and rampant expectation to having to pick up the pieces after a tough World Cup – at which they did themselves no favours with an undignified strike over money – and a stuttering start to Nations Cup qualifying. It was no surprise that coach Kwesi Appiah lost his job, with assistant Maxwell Konadu in charge for the rest of the qualifiers. Avram Grant has since been appointed and he will have little time to get to know his players before being thrust into a tough opening group.

COACH

Avram Grant came within a penalty kick of leading Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2008 and the possibility of a much larger international profile. Since his time in England he has taken Partizan Belgrade to the 2012 Serbian title during a brief tenure. Earlier in his career he had much success with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Six months ago he was a pundit for Israeli television at the World Cup.

KEY PLAYERS

Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari were axed after World Cup histrionics but Ghana patched up problems with the Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, who were key figures in the qualifiers along with stalwart Asamoah Gyan (above). Goalkeeping is a problem area but they have settled on Brimah Razak, who plays in Spain’s lower leagues. The versatile Kwadwo Asamoah is out after surgery in early December.

LIKELY STARTING XI (4-4-2): 

Brimah Razak - Harrison Afful, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Baba Abdul Rahman - Christian Atsu, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Rabiu Mohammed, André Ayew - Jordan Ayew, Asamoah Gyan.