Despite Andre Ayew missing out in Black Stars call-ups since 2024, many have argued the FIFA U-20 World Cup winner should make the squad to 2026 FIFA World Cup slated for this summer.
The former Swansea FC midfielder last received a Black Stars call-up for the international friendlies against Nigeria and Uganda in March 2024. Following that, he has been omitted from subsequent squads including the June and September 2024 World Cup qualifiers, with reports noting he was dropped for performance-based reasons
Currently, with NAC Breda several pundits have called for the inclusion of Ayew to the World Cup but former Ghanaian international Augustine Arhinful thinks otherwise.
With Ghana preparing for a highly competitive tournament in June, Arhinful has opined that Andre Ayew’s invite to the Black Stars should be on merit and not on public calls and pressure.
Arhinful stressed that his professionalism and leadership is one required in the team, however he’s callup should be on merit as Ayew keeps building momentum with the Dutch Eredivisie club.
“Dede was not active from the beginning of the season. He got a club in December 2025, in January 2026, he started playing, so let’s allow him to play his game”, Augustine Arhinful told Ghanaweb.
“His club is still battling relegation, so let’s allow him to come back to the shape that we want him to be”.
“We can’t say that because he’s played for the team before, we should give him a final goodbye—no. We are going into a competition where we need players; every player selected is needed.
“If the coach feels that he should be part of his team, why not? Maybe his professionalism and his leadership qualities will come to bear.”
The former Swansea FC midfielder last received a Black Stars call-up for the international friendlies against Nigeria and Uganda in March 2024. Following that, he has been omitted from subsequent squads including the June and September 2024 World Cup qualifiers, with reports noting he was dropped for performance-based reasons
Currently, with NAC Breda several pundits have called for the inclusion of Ayew to the World Cup but former Ghanaian international Augustine Arhinful thinks otherwise.
With Ghana preparing for a highly competitive tournament in June, Arhinful has opined that Andre Ayew’s invite to the Black Stars should be on merit and not on public calls and pressure.
Arhinful stressed that his professionalism and leadership is one required in the team, however he’s callup should be on merit as Ayew keeps building momentum with the Dutch Eredivisie club.
“Dede was not active from the beginning of the season. He got a club in December 2025, in January 2026, he started playing, so let’s allow him to play his game”, Augustine Arhinful told Ghanaweb.
“His club is still battling relegation, so let’s allow him to come back to the shape that we want him to be”.
“We can’t say that because he’s played for the team before, we should give him a final goodbye—no. We are going into a competition where we need players; every player selected is needed.
“If the coach feels that he should be part of his team, why not? Maybe his professionalism and his leadership qualities will come to bear.”
