{"id":253814,"date":"2024-11-21T09:19:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T09:19:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:19:31","slug":"kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/","title":{"rendered":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#8216;surreal moment&#8217; of making AFCON starting XI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"article-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanaweb.com\/imagelib\/pics\/316\/31666468.295.jpg\" alt=\"Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015\" title=\"Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015\" width=\"295\" height=\"201\" \/> <span class=\"image_caption\"><span>Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"-webkit-user-select: none; -webkit-touch-callout: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none;\">\n<p id=\"article-123\">For every footballer, the moment they step onto the field in a major tournament is unforgettable.<\/p>\n<p>For former Black Stars striker Kwesi Appiah, it was nothing short of surreal, as he recalled the moment he found out he was starting his first game for Ghana in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. <\/p>\n<p>Appiah\u2019s fine form at Cambridge United and Reading caught the eye of Avram Grant, Ghana\u2019s coach, in 2015, earning him his first call-up to the national team. <\/p>\n<p>However, Appiah had to wait for his debut, as he was an unused substitute in Ghana\u2019s first two games of the tournament. <\/p>\n<p>He finally got his moment when he was substituted for Jordan Ayew in Ghana\u2019s last group game against South Africa. <\/p>\n<p>Ghana won 2-1 after late goals from John Boye and Andr\u00e9 Ayew completed a remarkable comeback. <\/p>\n<p>The British-based Ghanaian striker had his full debut when Avram Grant handed him a starting berth in the quarterfinal game against Guinea. <\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Football Park, the Boreham Wood forward revealed how he felt when he found out he was starting for the first time for Ghana. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat Avram would do before we left to go to the game was the team talk at the hotel. So, obviously, we got to the hotel room, and the first picture that comes up is the starting lineup. I\u2019m in it, and I can\u2019t believe it. Honestly, I still can\u2019t believe it &#8211; even now, I\u2019m still transfixed looking over there because I can still see my picture on the lineup,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>According to Appiah, he had been waiting for that opportunity, and in that moment, all he wanted was to justify his inclusion. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thinking, \u2018This is it. This is the opportunity I\u2019ve been waiting for, and now I\u2019ve got to show why I\u2019ve been given this chance.\u2019 And then\u2014bang\u2014I score my debut goal. Even now, my heart feels so warm thinking about that experience. It was the ultimate justification for my inclusion in the team. The coach put me in the starting lineup, and now I\u2019m that guy,\u201d he further stated.  <\/p>\n<p>Appiah went on to play four times in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the silver medal after Ghana lost to Ivory Coast 8-9 on penalties. Overall, he earned seven caps for Ghana and scored one goal.  <\/p>\n<p>At 34, he still plays for Boreham Wood in the England National League and has already scored seven goals in eight games this season.  <\/p>\n<p>FKA\/OGB<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015 For every footballer, the moment they step onto the field in a major tournament is unforgettable. For former Black Stars striker Kwesi Appiah, it was nothing short of surreal, as he recalled the moment he found out he was starting his first game for Ghana in the 2015 Africa [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#039;surreal moment&#039; of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#039;surreal moment&#039; of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015 For every footballer, the moment they step onto the field in a major tournament is unforgettable. For former Black Stars striker Kwesi Appiah, it was nothing short of surreal, as he recalled the moment he found out he was starting his first game for Ghana in the 2015 Africa [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"409\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"headline\":\"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#8216;surreal moment&#8217; of making AFCON starting XI\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":441,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/31666468.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kwesi Appiah recalls the 'surreal moment' of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/31666468.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/31666468.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/31666468.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":409},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/21\\\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#8216;surreal moment&#8217; of making AFCON starting XI\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/author\\\/ghanamma\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the 'surreal moment' of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the 'surreal moment' of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com","og_description":"Kwesi Appiah playing in AFCON 2015 For every footballer, the moment they step onto the field in a major tournament is unforgettable. For former Black Stars striker Kwesi Appiah, it was nothing short of surreal, as he recalled the moment he found out he was starting his first game for Ghana in the 2015 Africa [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/","og_site_name":"Ghanamma.com","article_published_time":"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":409,"url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ghana News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"headline":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#8216;surreal moment&#8217; of making AFCON starting XI","datePublished":"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/"},"wordCount":441,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/","name":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the 'surreal moment' of making AFCON starting XI - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-21T09:19:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/31666468.jpg","width":600,"height":409},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/21\/kwesi-appiah-recalls-the-surreal-moment-of-making-afcon-starting-xi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kwesi Appiah recalls the &#8216;surreal moment&#8217; of making AFCON starting XI"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/author\/ghanamma\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}