Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah says the 2006 squad that qualified for the World Cup the first time in Germany is the best crop of players he has ever played with at national team level.

Ghana qualified for the World Cup the first time in 2006 and went on to reach the last 16 stage before been beaten by  Brazil in the round of 16.

According to Stephen Appiah, that squad was oozing with so much talent as those on the bench could equally play like those in the starting XI.

"The 2006 squad was something else. The players on the bench were equal to those on the pitch,” he said. “When we played against USA, we all saw Haminu Dramani’s performance but he didn’t start our first two games. Derek Boateng was as good as myself and Michael Essien," he told he told 3news.com’s Yaw Ofosu Larbi an Instagram Live Conversation with Betway.

“At the back, Shila Illiasu replaced Osei Kuffour against Czech Republic and we saw his performance. It was an all round team. Those who were on the bench as good as the first 11. Michael Essien was playing so well at Chelsea and Muntari was playing very well too. We had Asamoah Gyan was performing in his club, Olele was like a stopper. It was an all round team.”

Stephen Appiah made 67 appearances for the Black Stars scoring 16 goals in a spanning a decade.