Ghana AFCON 2021 squad: Clermont Foot midfielder Salis Abdul Samed handed maiden Black Stars call up

Clermont Foot midfielder Salis Abdul Samed handed maiden Ghana call up ahead of the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

The four-time African champions are among the 24 countries to partake in the prestigious tournament set for January 2022.

The much-anticipated tournament has been slated between January 9 and February 6, 2022 in the Central African country.

Ghana will be searching for a fifth AFCON trophy next year after last winning it in 1982.

The Serbian trainer, Milovan Rajevac on Tuesday announced a 30-man provisional squad for the continental showpiece and surprisingly included Salis Abdul Samed.

The 21-year-old has been instrumental for the French Ligue 1 side featuring 17 times in the ongoing campaign.

Black Stars will commence their preparations in Doha, Qatar on December 23 and will be in the Asian country for a period of three weeks.

They will play three games to give coach Rajevac the opportunity to assess his squad.

Ghana are expected to play a yet to named club side on Tuesday, December 28, before taking on one of the qualified teams (Egypt or Sudan) on Friday, January 1, 2022, in another friendly.

The team will wrap up their test matches against African Champions Algeria on January 5.

Ghana has been paired with Morocco, Gabon and Comoros at the 33rd AFCON tournament.

The delayed tournament will start on January 9 with the Black Stars playing their first match the next day against Morocco.

Their next game is against Gabon on January 14 before wrapping up their group stage campaign four days later against debutants Comoros.