By S. Siapha Mulbah
Ahead of the Liberian Lonestar Final African Cup of Nations Qualifying match against Morocco, Coach Ansumana Keita has unveiled his 23-man squad.
Keita named three goalkeepers, three forwards, six defenders and 11 midfielders, featuring both local and foreign based players.
Lonestar is expected to face the Atlas Lions on Saturday, September 9, 2023, to conclude the AFCON qualifiers round of Group K, from which two teams, excluding Liberia, have already qualified for the 2023 Nations Cup in Ivory Coast.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco and Bafana Bafana of South Africa managed to secure the top two spots in the group, which makes Liberia’s final game in the group a mere formality.
On the list of players to execute the task, the senior national team head coach has given a feature, for the first time, to three players believed to have been making impact in the game in the country and other parts of Liberia.
He called for the first time on the senior national team, Albert Korvah, Dionysius Harmon, and a promising youth football iconic star in Saah Moses.
Dionysius Harmon is a Liberian professional footballer based in the United States of America, Albert Korvah plays in the Nigerian Premier Football League for Rivers United, while the wonder kid Saah Moses is the new feature from home. He plays for newly promoted second division team in the Liberia league, Discoveries Sports Academy.
A sports analyst, Ephraim Weah, disclosed that Coach Keita will have the opportunity to observe the game personality and training attitude of several players.
According to Weah, it is evident that a majority of those selected for the Moroccan trip may not endure more than three matches in the national team, due to their below-average proficiency in African football standards.
“A significant number of players enter the national team without adequate preparation to make a meaningful impact or secure a spot,” he said in a publication.
He maintained that representing the national team is indeed an honor, but playing without contributing to the team’s progress renders it meaningless.
Certain players join solely to add a national team cap to their record, but they can be readily replaced and rarely receive another opportunity to participate.
