Chelsea defender Abdul Baba Rahman made his 45th appearance for Ghana in the Kirin Cup win over Chile on Tuesday.
If Rahman had been fit for the Japan match last Friday, he would have reached the impressive number. He was sick at the time and watched the Black Stars get thrashed 4-1 from the stands.
The 27-year-old was declared fit on Monday, and he put in a strong performance to help the Black Stars finish third, ahead of the Chileans.
Baba was up to the task, repelling many of the threats that came his way.
After a goalless 90 minutes, Ghana won the penalty shootout 3-1 thanks to Manaf Nurdeen’s outstanding performance, which included two saves.
Rahman was overjoyed and joined the other players in congratulating Manaf.
Baba debuted for the Black Stars in 2014 and has since established himself as the team’s first-choice left-back.
Baba has competed in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He was instrumental in the team reaching the final and converted his penalty in the shootout defeat to Ivory Coast.
He is expected to make the Black Stars squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Rahman narrowly missed out on a place in the 2014 World Cup. He was on the preliminary squad, but Kwesi Appiah did not select him to represent Ghana in Brazil.
Rahman will make a critical decision about his future at Chelsea now that the international break is over. His contract with the Blues has two more years left on it.
Ghanasoccernet reported last week that Middlesbrough, Reading, PAOK FC, and Augsburg have all approached Chelsea about signing Rahman.
