Kwasi Appiah: My job was on the line when I invited Kudus to Black Stars

Appiah was in charge of the national team when Kudus made his debut as a 19-year-old who was then on the books of Nordsjaelland.

The young playmaker came on as a second-half substitute in a 2019 AFCON qualifier against South Africa and scored as Ghana romped to a 2-0 victory.

Ex-Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah ece-auto-gen

Now playing for Dutch giants Ajax, he has since gone on to establish himself as a key member of the Black Stars.

Appiah said he took a bold decision by inviting Kudus and other young players for the game against South Africa, insisting his job was on the line at the time.

“Not only [Mohammed] Kudus but some other young players. There were people who felt the young players didn’t deserve the Black Stars call-up,” the former Ghana coach told Dan Kweku Yeboah TV, as quoted by Joy Sports.

“But for me, I had watched them and I believed them. I always told my players don’t prove to me, prove to Ghanaians. If you do well that’s for your own good.

“My job was on the line because I was warned that if I lost the match I will be sacked. I didn’t mind because I knew I was doing what was good for the country.”

We’ve been tracking Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus – Barcelona Director Pulse Ghana

Meanwhile, Kudus has been capped 21 times by Ghana, and has impressively scored seven goals for his country.

He was also one of the stars of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where he scored twice and provided one assist as the Black Stars exited at the group stages.