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Black Meteors coach, Ibrahim Tanko has revealed that US Cremonese forward declined an invite to join the Ghana U23 team for the AFCON qualifiers against Algeria because he was not ready.
The former A.S Roma forward stayed in Italy to prepare for the final run in the Serie A after the international break.
Despite his absence, the Black Meteors secured qualification to the Africa U23 Cup of Nations after beating Algeria 2-1 on aggregate.
“I don’t know what happened. I did my list and added him. I don’t know why he is not here. I personally spoke to his agent about four times, and he told me the boy is not ready,” Tanko told reporters after the game.
Afena-Gyan could join the team in Morocco for the AFCON championship, which will serve as a qualification tournament for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Tanko, who missed out on the Olympic Games four years ago, is hoping to return Ghana to the competition for the first time since Athens 2004.
“To qualify. We missed out the last time due to one penalty. We still have a chance to call some players. We have some 3 to 4 months to prepare. Definitely, we are adding some qualities and hope we can qualify for the Olympics,” he said.