Factbox: Ghana

Colours: White shirts, shorts and socks with yellow, red and black trim

Nickname: Black Stars

Previous World Cup appearances: 1: 2006

Best World Cup performance: Reached the second round in 2006

Coach: Milovan Rajevac

Most capped player: Richard Kingson 77

Top goalscorer: Abedi Pele 33

Squad:

Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars). Goalkeeper. Born September 28 1989. Caps: 0. Goals: 0.
A surprise choice for the preliminary squad, he caught the eye of the Ghana staff while helping his club to win the Ghana premier league title earlier this month in their debut season in the top flight.

Daniel Agyei (Liberty Professionals). Goalkeeper. Born November 10 1989. Caps: 2. Goals: 0.
Likely to be the second choice at the World Cup, having been promoted from the under-20 side that triumphed in the world championship in Egypt last October. He was the hero for his team as they beat Brazil in a penalty shootout in the final in Cairo.

Stephen Ahorlu (Hearts of Lion). Goalkeeper. Born September 5 1988. Caps: 0. Goals: 0.
Was one of Ghana's team of home-based players in the qualifiers for the new African Nations Championship, a tournament designed to stimulate more competition on the continent.

Richard Kingson (Wigan Athletic, England). Goalkeeper. Born June 13 1978. Caps: 77. Goals: 1.
Has had just a handful of games in the English league over the last season but is still the Black Stars' first choice.

Eric Addo (Roda JC Kerkrade, Netherlands). Defender. Born November 12 1978. Caps: 42. Goals: 0.
Left Ghana while still a teenage prodigy to play in Belgium, where he won success with FC Brugge, then moved across the border to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands with coach Eric Gerets. Made his international debut at the 1998 Nations Cup finals but did not play for the following eight years until a recall just before the 2006 World Cup finals.

Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea). Defender. Born September 26 1985. Caps: 8. Goals: 0.
Won a surprise place in the squad for the Nations Cup in Angola in January because of an injury crisis in the team and emerged among the tournament's best players. His age counts against a possible move from Ghana to a top European side but if he plays in the World Cup is likely to get some offers.

Ibrahim Ayew (Zamalek, Egypt). Defender. Born April 16 1988. Caps: 6. Goals: 0.
The son of former African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele and half-brother of team mate Dede Ayew. Recently accused his Egyptian club of sabotaging his World Cup chances by failing to give him regular playing time.

Samuel Inkoom (FC Basle, Switzerland). Defender. Born June 1 1989. Caps: 15. Goals: 0.
Proved arguably the best right back at the recent Nations Cup in Angola where Ghana finished runners-up. A world champion at under-20 level last year, he moved smoothly into the senior team. Relentlessly attacks opposing defenses on the flank. Moved to his Swiss club from Ghana's top outfit, Asante Kotoko.

John Mensah (Sunderland, England). Defender. Born November 29 1982. Caps: 63. Goals: 0
Known as 'The Rock', Mensah captained the team in the absence of injured Stephen Appiah when Ghana hosted the 2008 Nations Cup finals. Has a long-standing back problem which has led to a myriad of muscle injuries and led him to miss the 2010 finals in Angola. Moved to Italy after playing in the side that finished runners-up at the 2001 World Youth Championships in Argentina and transferred to France at the beginning of 2006.

Jonathan Mensah (Udinese, Italy). Defender. Born July 13 1990. Caps: 2. Goals: 0.
Hard-tackling center back who has not played for the last six months after moving from South African club Free State Stars to Udinese. He was supposed to go on loan to Granada in Spain to stay busy but the deal fell through.

John Pantsil (Fulham, England). Defender. Born June 15 1981. Caps: 54. Goals: 0.
Caused controversy at the last World Cup finals by waving an Israeli flag after Ghana scored against the Czech Republic in Cologne. Played in Poland and Israel before moving to London, where was first at West Ham and then Fulham. Lost out on a place in the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid when manager Roy Hodgson surprisingly dropped him.

Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany). Defender. Born June 28 1976. Caps: 28. Goals: 0
Born in Ghana but grew up in Germany where his previous clubs includes MSV Duisburg and VfL Wolfsburg. Played once for the Black Stars in 2000 before being recalled before the 2006 Nations Cup tournament. Among the survivors from the 1996 World Cup squad and likely to play a senior statesman role if Ghana do not get over all their injury problems..

Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim, Germany). Defender. Born June 21 1988. Caps: 12. Goals: 0.
Powerful and imposing central defender who debuted for Ghana in March last year and is now firmly entrenched in the central defense. His play in Angola in January more than made up for the absence through injury of Mensah.

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy). Midfielder. Born December 2 1990. Caps: 12. Goals: 0.
Member of the world championship-winning under-20 side, who made his Serie A debut in March after a successful Nations Cup tournament in Angola. Stocky midfielder with a huge appetite for the ball, who has a high work rate

Anthony Annan (Rosenborg, Norway). Midfielder. Born July 21 1986. Caps: 30. Goals: 0.
A former Hearts of Oak player who made a slow start to his career in Europe but then exploded into prominence in Norway after helping unfashionable Start to win the championship. Signed soon after by Norway's top club Rosenborg. His national-team debut came against Brazil in 2007.

Stephen Appiah (Bologna, Italy). Midfielder. Born December 24 1980. Caps: 63. Goals: 16.
Continues to battle a long-standing knee problem which has restricted him to a few minutes of club football over the last two years. Ghana view him as an inspirational leader and in his heyday he was a classy midfielder, full of skill and guile. His former clubs include Parma, Juventus and Fenerbahce.

Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy). Midfielder. Born September 9 1988. Caps: 13. Goals: 1.
Has the potential to be the next big name of African football, with a phenomenal eye for a pass and an elegant playmaking style. Stays tucked behind the front two but is also dangerous from set pieces.

Dede Ayew (Arles-Avignon, France). Midfielder. Born December 17 1989. Caps: 19. Goals: 1.
Has always had a hard act to live up to as the son of the famed Black Stars captain Abedi Pele, a burden he seems to find hard to bear at times. Was a teenage debutant at Olympique Marseille and was used in the UEFA Champions League but his career never took off and for the last two years he has been out on loan. This season he helped Arles to win promotion to Ligue 1.

Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth, England). Midfielder. Born March 6 1987. Caps: 0. Goals: 0.
Ghana have obtained FIFA permission to use the former Germany under-21 international. His younger brother Jerome made the preliminary German squad for the tournament in South Africa. May be the target of German fans' anger after his tackle put German captain Michael Ballack out of the World Cup.

Haminu Draman (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia). Midfielder. Born April 1 1986. Caps: 43. Goals: 4.
Tricky left-sided player who went to the last World Cup finals and was among Ghana's scorers. Taken by former Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic to Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and now plays in Moscow.

Michael Essien (Chelsea, England). Midfielder. Born December 3 1982. Caps: 50. Goals: 7.
Injury threatens his participation, which would be a huge blow to Ghana's hopes. Essien is one of African football's genuine superstars and often a talisman for the national team, called on to play in a myriad of positions when circumstances dictate. Notorious among his team mates for his ability to sleep, sometimes up to 16 hours a day.

Laryea Kingston (Hearts of Midlothian, Scotland). Midfielder. Born December 3 1980. Caps: 37. Goals: 6.
A poor disciplinary record in Scotland has cost him valuable playing time and his place in the team is under threat after he missed the Nations Cup. Brother of goalkeeper Richard, their surnames are spelt differently because passport officials inserted a 't' in Laryea's official documentation and it has never been corrected.

Bernard Kumordzi (Panionios, Greece). Midfielder. Born March 21 1985. Caps: 3. Goals: 0.
Has been called up to the squad several times but played only three times as a substitute, making his debut against Brazil in 2007. Had a brief spell at IFK Norkopping in Sweden but played no senior football in Ghana before going to Europe.

Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Italy). Midfielder. Born August 27 1984. Caps: 51. Goals: 16.
Had to patch up his relationship with coach Rajevac after being left out of the squad that went to the Nations Cup in Angola when he refused to play in a warm-up game in November. Crafty player with a stinging shot who will be one of Ghana's key personnel at the World Cup.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Al Sadd, Qatar). Midfielder. Born April 15 1986. Caps: 11. Goals: 0.
A former Dutch junior international who received permission from FIFA to switch his international allegiance just before the 2008 Nations Cup finals. Was on the books of Arsenal in England but his club career has been in freefall since spells in Russia, Spain, back in England and now in the Middle Esat.

Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan, Italy). Forward. Born November 29 1989. Caps: 4. Goals: 0.
Voted the best player at last year's World Youth Championship in Egypt, and also the leading scorer, he was the immediate subject of a tug-of-war among Europe's top clubs and eventually signed in November for AC Milan. Before that he had been playing in the obscurity of Norway's Fredrikstad.

Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda, Netherlands). Forward. Born October 24 1980. Caps: 40. Goals: 11.
Diminutive striker who has spent a good deal of his career overcoming injuries and even hostile home fans to establish himself as a fixture in the Dutch league. Had a brief spell at Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

Derek Boateng (Getafe, Spain). Forward. Born May 2 1983. Caps: 20. Goals: 3.
Boateng is making another comeback to the team, having emerged from a spell in the international wilderness to compete at the last World Cup finals in Germany. In the running for a squad berth despite not having played in any of the qualifiers.

Asamoah Gyan (Stade Rennes, France). Forward. Born November 22 1985. Caps: 37. Goals: 18
Scorer of Ghana's first World Cup finals goal, against the Czech Republic in Cologne in 2006, but was sent off against Brazil in the second round. Now free from his niggling injury concerns, he has had an impressive goal-scoring season in France with 13 in Ligue 1 for his club.

Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim, Germany). Forward. Born November 9 1986. Caps: 16. Goals: 3.
Was told at the start of the season that his contract at Hoffenheim had been canceled after a medical test revealed potential heart problems. He disputed the decision, got a second opinion and persuaded the club to keep him. Made his Bundesliga debut in February and ended the season with three goals.