Ghana U20 coach Wellington defends team selection

Ghana Under-20 coach Orlando Wellington has defended his team selection after the African Youth Championship title holders crashed out on Sunday.

He was denied the services of Olympique Marseille budding striker Jordan Ayew and Italy-based duo Daniel Kofi Agyei and Afriyie Acquah for the tournament.

The Berekum Chelsea coach, who was assistant coach when Ghana lifted the trophy in Rwanda two years ago, insisted that his team had quality.

“These are the best players in Ghana we selected for the tournament. Our goalkeeper and one of the central defenders play high level football in Ghana. We cannot have players with the same qualities at all times,” Wellington told Cafonline.com

Wellington's team also failed to secure qualification spot for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia later this year.

He believes his troops were unlucky to snatch one of the four qualification berths.

“We fought hard but we were not successful in all three games during the first round. We also found out that most were well prepared. All our games were not easy. It is unfortunate that as defending champions, we have to go out. With respect this game, I must say that Cameroon played well. I wish them good luck for the rest of the competition.”