Two Ghanaian youngsters cutting their teeth in Spanish football are reportedly on the verge of their first senior national team call-ups, as the Black Stars’ technical handlers cast their net wide ahead of a pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico.
David Oduro and Abdul Aziz Issah, both currently based in Barcelona, have drawn the attention of Ghana’s coaching staff on the back of a string of eye-catching performances at youth level. Sources close to the setup indicate the pair are under active consideration as part of a deliberate push to bring high-potential diaspora talent into the national team fold before rival European nations come calling.
Ghana’s friendly against Mexico is set to be the final preparatory fixture before the FIFA World Cup gets underway — making it a significant audition for fringe players and new faces alike. Beyond its tactical value, the match offers the technical team a live stage on which to assess emerging options and begin broadening the squad’s depth ahead of the tournament proper.
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For Oduro and Issah, a call-up would represent far more than a debut cap. It would signal their arrival on the senior stage at a moment when Ghana is actively reshaping its talent pipeline.
The urgency behind Ghana’s scouting push is not accidental. With both players eligible to represent multiple nations, the Ghana Football Association is acutely aware that the window for securing their commitment is a narrow one.
European national teams have historically been swift to move on dual-eligible players who show promise in their youth academies, and Ghana has lost a number of targets to that competition in recent years.
The drive to act early has found vocal backing from former Black Stars defender Samuel Osei Kuffour, who has publicly stressed the importance of identifying and engaging young Ghanaian talents abroad before other associations beat the GFA to the punch.
An official squad announcement from the Ghana Football Association is expected in the coming days, at which point it will become clear whether Oduro and Issah have made the cut. If they do, their inclusions would mark a telling statement of intent from a technical team determined to leave no stone unturned in Ghana’s World Cup preparations.