Gideon Mensah reacts to Black Stars’ player withdrawals ahead of AFCON qualifiers

Ghana defender Gideon Mensah has expressed his belief that the recent withdrawal of eight players from the Black Stars squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers is a significant loss to the team.

However, the Auxerre left-back remains confident in the quality of the replacements called up.

"Every player on the national team is crucial, and while we’ve lost key players, we have others who are just as capable of stepping in and filling the void," Mensah said following training on Monday.

"It's a big loss for us, but we have a team to cover for their absence. I’m not worried about that; everyone is vital to the team, and if one player isn't available, another will step up."

The players who withdrew include Premier League stars Antoine Semenyo and Tariq Lamptey, US-based Joseph Painstil, Alexander Djiku of Fenerbahçe, and Jerome Opoku of Istanbul Basaksehir.

Additionally, Feyenoord's Ibrahim Osman, Swiss-based Jonas Adjetey, and striker Inaki Williams also pulled out for various reasons.

To fill the gaps, head coach Otto Addo has called up replacements, including Austin FC winger Osman Bukari, Terry Yegbe of IF Elfsborg, Kingsley Schindler, Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer, Forson Amankwah, and Ebenezer Annan.

The Black Stars are scheduled to travel to Luanda on Wednesday ahead of their crucial qualifier against Angola on Friday.