Kwesi Appiah Reveals Why Alfred Duncan Was Played Out Of Position

Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, says he decided to allow midfielder, Alfred Duncan to operate from the wings because of the positions he played for his club.

The 26-year-old had to be substituted in the second half during Ghana’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against South Africa on Thursday because he struggled to with the position.

Explaining why he kept the midfielder on the flanks during a post-match press conference, the Ghana gaffer said injury had also rendered him incapable of using the players he wished to and had to improvise.

Besides, the coach said he wanted to capitalised on the experience and quality of his stars to make the midfield stronger to be able to compete with the South Africans.

“As you realized, we had a lot of injuries and because of that there were some players that I had to shift around and Duncan does very well in his club.

“Sometimes he plays from the right sometimes he plays from the midfield so I thought I needed the experienced players to be in the middle and with their experience and energy I believe they can pick the ball and then we can play.

“So that’s the main reason I had Dede, Duncan, Partey and Baba in the midfield which made our midfield very strong”.

He argued that he does not usually invite players to the Black Stars camp due to the position they play but what they can contribute to the team and cited the skipper as an example of players who now play as strikers for their club but was used in the midfield.

“Recently our captain has been playing as a striker in his club so when he comes I can access the situation considering the number of players I have. If I think he should be moved to a striking role or he should be move to the left side, I have total confidence that when he is moved to that side he can play.

Most of the time when you are picking a player for the national team it should not be because he plays in a particular position. Me whenever I pick a player, I access him and tell myself that this guy I can use him here or there”, the coach said.