The number one goalkeeping position for the national team does not yet have a clear favourite, according to former Black Stars goalkeeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey.
Since the achievements of current Black Stars goalie Richard Kingston, who served as Ghana's goalkeeper from 1996 to 2010, the replacement for the shot-stopper has been a major challenge.
Goalkeepers like Razak Brimah of Linares Deportivo, Fatawu Dauda of Legon Cities, Richard Ofori of Orlando Pirates, and Jojo Wollacot of Charlton Athletic have all suited up for the national team.
Wollacot was Ghana's goalkeeper at the dismal Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where Ghana lost all of its games and was eliminated. When the Stars sealed the World, he was also the one in control.
For the top slot in the World Cup, Ofori, Lawrence Ati-Zigi of St. Gallen, and Abdul Manaf Nurudeen of Eupen are vying. Nurudeen recently won praise for saving two penalties in Ghana's victory over Chile in the Kirin Cup tournament.
When Kingston left the national team in 2017, Kwarasey succeeded him as the starting goalkeeper. According to Kwarasey, there is no obvious favourite among the goalkeepers.
There isn't a certain favourite, in my opinion; they seem to be quite evenly matched. Obviously, Wollacott participated in the competition; before to the event, I didn't really know him, so that's all I've ever seen of him. Ati-Zigi and I sometimes chat. I've never met him, but we merely text to remain in touch.
Richard Ofori, an excellent goalie, and I both played together. He had some ailments, but I have a sense that if he's well and in the right place, he may be the one I play with," he said in an exclusive interview with JoySports.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Kwarasey started in goal for Ghana's opening match against the United States but was benched for the following matches against Germany and Portugal.
Later, he received a call-up for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, but he withdrew due to injury from the 2017 AFCON.
The former Stromsgodset goalkeeper is optimistic that the new Black Stars coaching staff, led by Coach Otto Addo and including Didi Dramani, Chris Hughton, and George Boateng, would perform better than the 2014 World Cup group stage exit in Qatar later this year.
"Undoubtedly, I believe that will be helpful because I believe the preparations - they'll likely make some demands, and they have some sort of expectations on how things should be done.
"I also believe that their strategies are perhaps more in line with what the team is used to in their clubs, which is a bonus."
On July 5, 2022, on JoyNews and JoySports, an exclusive interview with the current Sporting Director of Fc Oslo is broadcast.