Ghana’s senior women’s national team, the Black Queens will leave Accra for Nagasaki Tuesday for an international friendly with their Japanese counterparts this weekend.
They play against the Nadeshiko Japan in an MS&AD Cup 2018 match scheduled for the Transcosmos Stadium on Sunday April 1.
Interim coach Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has named 18 players for the Tuesday morning trip with 17 of them listed from the squad of 21 which recently won the maiden Wafu B Women’s Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Centre-back Faustina Ampah has been excused due to club duties with FC Minsk with Black Princesses and Ampem Darkoa Ladies’ Justice Tweneboa coming in as her replacement.
Also, fit-again winger Leticia Zikpi, who captained the team at the 2016 Women’s Afcon, kept her place in the team.
The last time the two countries met, Ghana were at the receiving end of a 5-0 drubbing – a similar friendly on September 13, 2014.
The Japan friendly forms part of Ghana’s preparations towards participating in the 2018 Women’s African Cup of Nations the country will be hosting later in the year.
The Black Queens are expected to return home by April 3.
Ghana is also in talks with Morocco for a two-legged friendly in the coming weeks.
Squad for Japan friendly:
Goalkeepers
21 Patricia Mantey (Immigration Ladies)
16 Nana Ama Asantewaa (Police Ladies)
Defenders
4 Janet Egyir (Hasaacas Ladies)
18 Rita Okyere (Prisons Ladies)
6 Ellen Coleman (Lady Strikers)
2 Gladys Amfobea (Lady Strikers)
9 Phylicity Asuako (Police Ladies)
19 Justice Tweneboaa (Ampem Darkoa)
Midfielders
13 Leticia Zikpi (Immigration Ladies)
7 Grace Asare (Prisons Ladies)
8 Juliet Acheampong (Prisons Ladies)
14 Priscilla Okyere (Ampem Darkoa)
5 Grace Asantewaa (Ampem Darkoa)
12 Mavis Owusu (Ampem Darkoa)
Forwards
17 Portia Boakye (Ferencvárosi Tc/Hungary)
10 Ernestina Tetteh (Halifax Ladies)
3 Jane Ayieyam (Police Ladies)
11 Alice Kusi (Zouk Mosbeh/Lebanon)
