The Ghana Football Association on Tuesday released Otto Addo’s 24-man squad for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Chad and Madagascar.

Ghana will face Chad in N’Djamena on September 4 before hosting Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium four days later.

The Black Stars currently lead Group I with 15 points, three ahead of Comoros in second place and five clear of Madagascar in third.

Here are six takeaways from the squad:

No big changes

The core of the team remains intact, with no major surprise omissions. Captain Jordan Ayew, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, and Alexander Djiku are all included.

Key returnees

Joseph Paintsil makes a return after last featuring 11 months ago in an AFCON qualifier against Angola in September 2024.

AJ Auxerre forward Ibrahim Osman also returns after 11 months, following an underwhelming loan spell at Feyenoord where he scored four goals and provided three assists in 32 appearances, most of them as a substitute. The 20-year-old has started brightly at Auxerre, registering two assists in two league matches.

Tariq Lamptey is back after ten months, having last played in the doubleheader AFCON qualifiers against Sudan in October 2024. He has struggled with recurring injuries during that period.

One debutant – Derrick Kohn

The only first-timer in the squad is Union Berlin defender Derrick Kohn. The 26-year-old Hamburg-born left back signed for the German Bundesliga club this summer and played 23 minutes in their league opener.

In 2017, Kohn featured for Germany’s U19 team in a friendly against Cyprus but has not been selected at any level since.

He is believed to have taken the place of Ebenezer Annan of Saint-Etienne, who has arguably been Ghana’s best left-back this season.

One home-based player

Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Benjamin Asare, who has been first-choice since his debut in March 2025, is the only home-based player named.

A notable absentee is Nations FC centre-back Razak Simpson, who received the last three call-ups. Since the end of the season, however, he has not played in any major competition, and with competition for central defensive positions fierce, he missed out on a spot.

Curious omission - Thomas-Asante

While Lawrence Agyekum, Ebenezer Annan, Kwasi Sibo, and Abu Francis could all feel hard done by, the exclusion of Coventry City striker Brandon Thomas-Asante raises the most questions.

In the Unity Cup games at the end of last season, the 26-year-old scored his first goal for Ghana against Nigeria. He is now well integrated into the team and has made one of the best starts to the season among all Ghanaian forwards. With two goals and two assists in three Championship matches and five appearances overall, he is in better shape than many of the forwards currently in the squad.

Benjamin Tetteh has certainly put himself in a strong position for a Black Stars return.

Manu Duah and Patric Pfeiffer also make my Ghanaian Players Abroad Team of the Week.

Let me know who you think should have made the list—or missed out.

pic.twitter.com/XcHOG2Qimc

— Adamu Benin Abdul Karim (@_benin_) August 26, 2025

He has more goals (2, the same as Semenyo) than all forwards named in the team who have just started their season.

Stats of forwards who just kicked off their season

Player	Games	Goals	Assists
Brandon Thomas-Asante	5	2	2
Antoine Semenyo	3	2	1
Mohammed Kudus	3	0	2
Ibrahim Osman	2	0	2
Inaki Williams	2	0	0
Kamaldeen Sulemana	1	0	0
Jerry Afriyie	1	0	0
Christopher Bonsu Baah	1	0	0

Common sense in Issahaku and Seidu cases

Understandably, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Alidu Seidu have been left out of the squad despite returning from long injury layoffs. Issahaku was fit to start the season with Leicester after being sidelined with an ACL injury for 260 days. The 21-year-old scored his first goal in 16 months to hand Leicester a 1-0 win against Charlton over the weekend.

However, Seidu made his comeback over the weekend as a late substitute against Lorient in Ligue 1 after being on the treatment table for an ACL injury for 250 days.