No friendly for Black Stars

Senior national football team, the Black Stars will be out of international action for the next four (4) months, effectively ruling out the anticipated friendly with Mexico.

Mexico who beat Ghana 1-0 while preparing for the World Cup in Germany was billed for a return encounter on June 2, a Fifa approved friendly date.

Coach Claude Leroy says Ghana next international outing will most probably be in August, explaining that the other national teams have crucial outings that will require the use of some Black Stars players.

The Black Meteors have a crucial Olympic qualifier against their Nigerian counterparts (Under 23), while the Satellites (Under 20) also have an impending four nation competition in Toronto.

Speaking at his monthly press briefing in Accra, the coach said most of the players he would have loved to use for the friendly games in June would be involved with either the Meteors or Satellites.

Haminu Dramani, Asamoah Gyan, Anthony Annan, Alfred Arthur, Bernard Yao Kumordzie, Ekow Benson and a host of others have been featuring in recent times for the Black Stars are also vital for Jones Attuquayefio's Black Meteors.

Le Roy says he always wants the full complement of players when preparing for a match and wouldn't want to create problems for the other national teams by denying them use of players they require.

He added that the Black Meteors match and the Satellites tournament in Toronto are very important to Ghana football as a whole, and all the needed attention and co-operation must be given and attached to them.

The season for most of Ghana's star players in Europe come to an end this May and the Black Stars Coach says “they will need some rest from the long season they have had.”

“I want my players to be tactically, technically, mentally and be fresh for any game they play so there is a need for some amount of break” he emphasized.

According to the coach, when the Black Stars return to the field in August, their possible opponents will include Argentina, Sweden, Cameroon & Senegal.

The coach is also looking forward to a possible four nation tournament in Ghana in from the 17th -21st of November, which he will use to prepare the team give them a feel of the atmosphere and pressure of playing before home fans ahead of the Nations cup in January 2008.