The 20-year-old midfield anchor has been one of the key players for the Portimao-based club who are now lying 9th on the league log and he is one of the favourites of manager Lazaro Oliveira.

Goal.com Ghana understands that a host of Portuguese elite clubs such as Vitoria Guimaraes and Academica de Coimbra are on his heels and they are bent on signing the youngster this summer to beef up their midfield.

Also Goal.com Ghana has been hinted that Mubarak Wakaso who is on his way out of Espanyol has recommended Alhassan to manager Javier Aguirre and he might go to the Estadi Cornelia El-Prat for trials this summer.

Wakaso was discovered by Cheetah FC owner Abdul-Hayye Yartey during the Northern Region Under-15 basic schools football tournament and he played for the Kasoa-based Division Two side for close to two seasons.

He was transferred together with FC Porto’s Christian Atsu by Cheetah FC to Portugal in 2009.

Ghana Player of the Week

Wakaso AGE 22 POSITION Striker FOR Espanyol WEEK IN NUMBERS APPS (GOALS SCORED) 1 (1) TIME ON PITCH 90 PREVIOUS WINS 0

The former Villarreal player stole the show when his side drew 3-3 with Valencia last Saturday night. Wakaso first broke the deadlock in the dying embers of the first half before setting up Joan Verdú Fernández for Espanyol’s second goal. It was one of his good performances since joining Espanyol but unfortunately, they threw away the lead on two occasions and finally shared the spoils with Los Che.

Honourable Mention

ASAMOAH GYAN  – AL AINThe Ghana captain announced his presence right after recovering from a minor injury. Gyan came from the bench to score the third goal as Al Ain beat Al Itihad Kalba 3-1 in the UAE pro league.
JOHN BOYE – RENNESThe 25-year-old gave his team some hope after grabbing the second equaliser against Evian. Unfortunately, Rennes were unable to protect the 2-2 draw and eventually lost 4-2 – another good game by the Ghanaian defender.
KWABENA ADUSEI - KOTOKOAzzaro, as he is affectionately called, got the late winner for Asante Kotoko in their game against Ebusua Dwarfs at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium over the weekend. The game was coasting to a draw and fans had even left the stadium and with seconds left on the clock to end proceedings, he came from nowhere to rekindle Kotoko’s title defence hopes.

Both Coaches Rabie Yassin of Egypt and Sellas Tetteh of Ghana have assured their fans that they are ready for the clash.

“I am ready for the clash and my foals too. I did well in the last games with my players and hope to win the cup,” Egyptian Coach Rabie Yassain has said.

On the other hand Tetteh said: “I will play this match only to win , I will not lose again , I talked with my players and we have one goal and it is the Cup”.

The Egyptian team who won all their matches at this tournament may be suffer after their ace Ahmed Hassan “Koka” left their camp to return to his team Rio Ave after the end of the group stage. Egypt will now depend on Al Ahly striker Omar Bassam from the start of the match for the first time.

“I know how to treat the Ghanaian defenders, we will do our best then wait on what will happen,” Omar told supersport.com.

Tetteh too has his weapons like the deadly attacker Ebenezer Assifuah who scored three goals and revealed that he want to be the top scorer at the tournament.

Egypt have three title in this tournament winning in 1981 , 1991 and at 2003. The same with Ghana that won in 1993 , 1999 and 2009. kick-off 15:00 (GMT).

Source: supersport.com

Asamoah Gyan

Ghana showed no mercy in its 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sudan, thrashing them 4-0 at Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday.

Asamoah Gyan took his international tally to 32 goals, Majeed Waris scored his debut goal while Mubarak Wakaso continued his impressive goal-scoring with a cracker.

It was a performance that Waris will cherish for years after coming to the party in an impressive start against the Nile crocodile.

He could have grabbed his first international goal in the 6th minute but his shot was too feeble to trouble goalkeeper Elmoiz Mangoub.

But he made amends by heading home the third goal with ten minutes left and provided an assist for Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu to complete the heavy win.

Gyan tucked in the first goal from five yards from John Boye’s header on the 19th minute mark.

The Al Ain attacker scored perhaps his easiest international goal after he tapped in from close range with goalkeeper Mangoub already beaten.

Sudan looked solid at the back with Mohammed Tahir Ramada and Amir Kamal providing cover for the often jittery defence.

Harrison Afful’s dashing cross found Wakaso who wasted no time in blasting home from the 18-yard box with a low grounder beating Mangoub for the second time.

Afful produced great footwork on the overlap and sent in an incisive cross which was met beautifully by the Espanyol midfielder with a low volley.

Sudan midfielder Alaedin Yusuf was shown the yellow card in the 42nd minute after a late, late challenge on the goal scorer.

Striker Mohammed Musa also came close to reducing the deficit but he sensationally blew away the chance with only goalkeeper Fatau Dauda to beat in the 48th minute.

The Ghanaians looked panicky with signs of uncoordinated passes creeping into their game as coach Kwesi Appiah kept shaking his head in frustration.

Gyan failed to recover from what seemed like an innocuous challenge in 53rd minute and was replaced by Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu with petite Solomon Asante taken the place of not-too impressive Sulley Muntari.

Waris capped an incredible start for Ghana with fine header in the 80th minute and then provided an assist for Agyemang-Badu to complete the massacre.

The Black Stars have now enhanced their chances of qualifying to the final qualifying round after Zambia dropped points at Lesotho in a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

The group winners will advance to a decisive two-legged playoff that will determine Africa’s five representatives at next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Source: supersport.com

The game at the Baba Yara Stadium saw coach Kwesi Appiah play two different sides in both halves.

After the first 45 minutes, the Black Stars were up two-zero with goals coming from Otoo and Frimpong.

There were also three other first-timers in the side that played the first half as Yaw Frimpong, Baba Rahman and David Accam all enjoyed a run out.

The Black Stars returned from the break with a new squad and were rewarded with three more goals through Majeed Waris, Agyemang Badu and Mubarak Wakaso

The test game formed part of the Black Stars’ preparations ahead of Sunday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sudan.

First half

Adam Kwarasey, Yaw Frimpong, Baba Rahman, Jonathan Mensah, Mohammed Awal, Emmanuel Frimpong, Solomon Asante, Rabiu Mohammed, Mahatma Otoo, David Accam, Albert Adomah.

Second half

Fatau Dauda/Daniel Agyei, Harrison Afful, Kissi Boateng, John Boye, Isaac Vorsah, Kwadwo Asamoah, Agyemang Badu, Sulley Muntari, Majeed Waris, Asamoah Gyan, Mubarak Wakaso.

Source: Ghanafa.org

Frimpong Arrives!!!!

Ghana’s international airport came to a standstill on Monday night when Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong arrived in Accra to play for the country for the first time.

Hundreds of travelers at the airport stood to catch a glimpse of the tough-tackling midfielder as he was whisked away by a Ghana FA official.

He arrived in the company of Albert Adomah, David Accam, Sulley Muntari and John Boye.

Some also stayed behind to watch him have an interaction with the media before he was whisked away while a few chanted his name.

Frimpong switched nationality last year from England to enable him play for his country of birth.

“I come to Ghana every day man! Every day I am here,” Frimpong said when asked by reporters whether he was arriving in the country for the first time.

Frimpong switched nationality last year from England to enable him play for his country of birth.

His availability is a boost for Ghana after youngster Christian Atsu was ruled out of the game because of injury.

Source: ghanasoccernet

Source: Ghanafa.org

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 18: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat dunks on an alley-oop pass against Jason Terry #4 of the Boston Celtics on March 18, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

BOSTON — LeBron James and the Miami Heat escaped Boston with their 23rd win in a row. All that’s in front of them now is the NBA record for consecutive victories.

Five years to the day after the Celtics snapped Houston’s winning streak at 22 games, James scored 37 points and made the go-ahead basket with 10.5 seconds left in Miami’s 105-103 victory on Monday night.

After overcoming the largest deficit they’ve faced during their streak, the only team left for the Heat to catch is the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 in a row.

“It means a lot,” James said. “I know the history of the game. To be sitting in second place right now … for us to be there and doing it the way we want to do it, it means a lot.”

Jeff Green scored a career-high 43 points for Boston, which was without Kevin Garnett for the second straight game. Paul Pierce had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, but he missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that could have given Boston the win.

Instead, the defending NBA champions won a regular-season game in Boston for the first time in 11 tries.

“This was a passionate game, a lot of history between the two teams,” said Miami forward Shane Battier, who played for the Rockets when their 22-game win streak ended on March 18, 2008, and was with the Heat when they knocked Boston out of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. “Not that it’s playoff intensity … nothing’s like the playoffs.”

James added 12 assists and Mario Chalmers scored 21 for Miami, which has not lost since Feb. 1.

“It’s a special opportunity that we have with this group and you don’t want to take it for granted,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You want to treat every day as a special opportunity to be with this group, to share these moments together, but more importantly to take a step closer to going after our goal and every day that we improve puts us in a better position in a quest where nothing is guaranteed for anybody.”

The Heat had not won in Boston since the New Big Three was formed — including a double-overtime Celtics victory on Jan. 27, when Ray Allen returned with his new team.

That was the day Rajon Rondo was diagnosed with an ACL tear that ended his season. This time, it was Garnett who sat out, though coach Doc Rivers said he would have played if the thigh injury had not been compounded by the flu.

“I believed we were going to win the game before the game. I thought we were going to win the game during the game. And I thought we should have won the game,” Rivers said. “I give them credit. They made some spectacular plays.”

Boston led by as many as 17 in the first half, but it was 103-all when Miami got the ball with 33 seconds left. James dribbled down the shot clock before putting up a jumper from the right wing to take the lead.

Green drove into the lane for Boston, but he was stuffed by Battier; the ball went out of bounds and, after replay, was given to the Celtics with 7.1 seconds remaining.

Courtney Lee found Pierce for an open 3-pointer, but it bounced long off the rim and Dwyane Wade, who scored 16, tipped the rebound to the corner and then grabbed it.

“No moral victories, even though it was a close game,” Pierce said.

Green had 14 points in the first quarter, when the Celtics scored the last 17 points to open a 31-19 lead. Boston led by as many as 17 in the second, but Miami went on a 15-6 run just before the half to make it a six-point game and then scored the first eight points in the third quarter to take the lead.

Green had 12 in the second quarter and 12 in the third.

“He showed what he can do,” Pierce said. “That was an example of it today.”

Game notes

James was called for a technical foul for taunting when he stood over Jason Terry after a dunk. It was James’ sixth technical of the season and the 39th of his career. … Pierce and Chalmers got involved in a minor scuffle when Pierce drew an offensive foul and Chalmers tried to grab the ball from him after the whistle.

Ghana Players Arriving at the Kotoka International Airport

Ghana’s training will move into full gear on Tuesday as 20 players had arrived in camp by Monday night for the World Cup qualifier against Sudan on Sunday.

AC Milan star Sulley Muntari was the biggest name to arrive on Monday night along with Emmanuel Frimpong, John Boye, David Accam and Albert Adomah.

This means the number of players in camp has sharply risen with just three players expected to join camp later on Tuesday.

Mubarak Wakaso, Adam Kwarasey and Harrison Afful will join the squad on Tuesday night as they were in action for their clubs on Sunday.

Greuther Fürth left-back Baba Abdul Rahman was first to arrive while centre-back Isaac Vorsah, Awal Mohammed France-based duo of Rabiu Mohammed and Jonathan Mensah are in town for the crunch game.

Italy-based duo Kwadwo Asamoah and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu as well as TP Mazembe trio Richard Kissi Boateng, Yaw Frimpong and Solomon Asante and Abdul Majeed Waris are among players that have arrived early in preparations for the game.

Captain Asamoah Gyan is available after attending the funeral of his late mum and will join three other local players – Fatau Dauda, Daniel Agyei and Mahatma Otoo.

Source: ghanasoccernet

“We have prepared the team adequately and we hope to win more gold medals for the country,” Enock Amartey, president of the Ghana Tennis Association (GTA), told Xinhua via telephone on Friday.

Four players of the national team left Accra Tuesday to participate in the event which will be held at the Nairobi Club and the Public Service Club in Kenya.

Amartey said the association had hit the ground running with its talent hunt program, adding that it recently organized numerous tournaments to unearth more talents for upcoming zonal, regional and international future assignments.

Several of Ghana’s top tennis stars are aging but Amartey said efforts were being made to put together a formidable national team by blending young players with experienced ones. Ghana has continuously put up impressive performances at the tournament over the past four years. Isaac Nortey and Maxwell Akpene last year won Ghana’s first gold medal in the African junior tennis tournament after more than 20 years. Teams that will participate in the event include Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho and Libya. The rest are Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Hosts Kenya will field a squad of 13 players.

Players who qualified by taking part in one of three zonal championships which took place in January and February this year in West and Central Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa began warm-up exercises at the event venue this week ahead of the championships.

The tournament, which offers competition in two age categories, namely 16 and under-14 years and below, has attracted entries from 58 boys and 53 girls from 26 countries and regions. The warm-up tournament allows the African players to adapt to local conditions in preparation for the all-important African Junior Championships to take place at the same venue next week. Feed-in consolation events are organized so that players have the opportunity to play a singles match every day to prepare adequately in advance of the continent’s most prestigious junior tennis event.

Both events are being hosted by the Kenya Lawn Tennis Association (KLTA) in collaboration with the International Boxing Federation (ITF) and the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT). During the tournament, over 40 delegates from various federations of African nations will assemble in Nairobi from March 19-21 for the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) Annual General Meeting.

The meeting, which will be chaired by current CAT Chairman Tarak Cherif of Tunisia, will be attended by ITF Federation Director of Development Dave Miley.

It will also discuss the new proposal to send talented players to Morocco to perfect their skills, owing to its proximity to Europe. The confederation has 50 members.

Source: Alex Osei-Boateng/Xinhua News Agency