Enzo Maresca Hails Young Ghanaian Quartet After Impressive Display Against Astana
- Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has reacted to the performance of his young player against Astana
- Four players of Ghanaian descent featured for the Blues in Kazakhstan as Chelsea progressed to the next round
- Marc Guiu scored a brace as the English Premier League side defeated their opponents on the road on Thursday night
Enzo Maresca was left impressed by the mature display of his youngsters in the game against Astana.
The Italian trainer fielded a completely different team from the Chelsea squad that faced Tottenham over the weekend in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday evening.
Four players from the team were young Ghanaian footballers who are gradually carving their way into the first team.
Source: Getty Images
Josh Acheampong, Tyrique George and Sam Rak-Sakyi started for the Blues before Ato Ampah came on in the second half as Chelsea defeated Astana 3-1.
"I’m also happy for the young players who helped us win the game. I was impressed by all of them. The ones who started, Tyrique [George], Sam [Rak-Sakyi] and Josh [Acheampong] all did very good. So I’m very happy for them and the ones that came on in the second half, I’m pleased," he said after the game, as quoted on Chelsea's official website.
A first-half brace from Marc Guiu and a strike from Renato Veiga gave Chelsea a commanding lead, but Astana pulled one back at the stroke of half-time through Marin Tomasov, as reported by Euro Sport.
Chelsea youngsters eligible for Ghana
Although Josh Acheampong is an England youth international, the right-back and the three others could still feature for the Black Stars.
YEN.com.gh spoke to journalist Steven Amegah on the discovery of the quartet and what it means to Ghana football.
"Three of these youngsters were born in the UK, only Ato Ampah was born in Ghana. They are doing well with the youth team. Josh has already made his Premier League debut and all four have shown great potential. I know the GFA is looking but it will be hard to get them to represent us," he said.
"However, we can't take away the fact that there have been some England youth players who ended up representing Ghana. We can talk of Tariq Lamptey, also groomed by Chelsea, Jerome Opoku, who now plays in Turkey.
"My advice will be for us to focus on players groomed and raised in Ghana, that we have the chance of roping into the national teams."
Ghanaian quartet feature against Astana
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that four players of Ghanaian origin played in Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Astana in the UEFA Conference League.
Josh Acheampong, Sam Rak-Sakyi, and Tyrique George started for the Blues before Ato Ampah came on in the second half.
With some already representing England at youth level, all four remain eligible to play for Ghana.
New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!
Source: YEN.com.gh
