Ghana names 26-man provisional World Cup squad

Ghana manager Kwesi Appiah announced a 26-man provisional World Cup squad on Monday, a group that includes seven holdovers from the team that captured the imagination of a continent four years ago in South Africa.

No player epitomized the Black Stars' run to the quarterfinal more than striker Asamoah Gyan, and he will get a chance to build upon that display - and make amends for his heartbreaking penalty miss against Uruguay.

The former Sunderland attacker is joined by familiar faces in the form of stalwarts Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien and Kwadwo Asamoah. Sulley Muntari is also included in a midfield that has a distinctly Italian flavor, as five of the ten midfielders on the provisional squad play in Serie A.

With the exception of goalkeeper Stephen Adams, who plies his trade with Aduana Stars in his native country, the entire squad is based abroad.

The roster will be whittled down to 23 names after Ghana faces the Netherlands in a friendly match on May 31.

Here's the provisional group in full:

Goalkeepers

Fatau Dauda (Orlando Pirates), Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset), Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars).

Defenders

Samuel Inkoom (Platanias), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Harrison Afful (Esperance), Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester), John Boye (Rennes), Jonathan Mensah (Evian), Jerry Akaminko (Kisehirspor), Rashid Sumalia (Mamelodi Sundowns).

Midfielders

Michael Essien (AC Milan), Sulley Muntari (AC Milan), Rabiu Mohammed (Kuban Krasnodar), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese), Afriyie Acquah (Parma), Christian Atsu (Vitesse), Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough), Andre Ayew (Marseille), Mubarak Wakaso (Rubin Kazan).

Forwards

Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke 04), Abdul Majeed Waris (Valenciennes), Jordan Ayew (Sochaux), David Accam (Helsingborg).

Ghana find themselves in a supremely difficult Group G, alongside Germany, Portugal and the United States.