GHANA

Another product of the famous Right to Dream Academy, Yirenkyi joined Danish side FC Nordsjælland in 2024 and was the toast of Ghana fans after two appearances in last year’s Kirin Cup. A powerful, skilful and versatile performer, adept box-to-box or as a right-wing back, he is often compared to Michael Essien, who is now one of his coaches in Denmark. On Essien’s influence, Yirenkyi says: “He can coach and impact everyone and anyone. We learn a lot from him and are very grateful to have such a guy.” Yirenkyi arrived at the World Cup after months of transfer speculation linking him with England’s biggest sides. His club and international teammate Prince Amoako Junior told Joy Sports in January: “He doesn’t see himself the way we see him because he’s a very humble guy. But Caleb is insane, he’s crazily good. He’s a superstar, and I tell him so every time.”

After making 29 starts in 32 appearances in his breakthrough campaign and enjoying four years with Basel, Adjetey moved to Wolfsburg for a reported €10m at the start of this year, and made swift progress, improving his consistency, timing his tackles better, and perfecting long diagonal balls. His development, and Mohammed Salisu’s unfortunate ACL injury, have made him almost an automatic pick for Ghana this summer. He had a tough upbringing in Teshie, a suburb of Accra. “We didn’t really have much,” he told Wolfsburg’s website. “You go to school, play football and help your parents. Three things, every day.” When he needed football boots he had to get up at 5am and go to a construction site with his friends. “I had to work. I helped out there so I could afford them.” Then he lost his father in a car accident. “I am very sad that he can no longer witness what he invested so much time and passion in … My parents gave everything for my sister and me.”

It has been a prolific 12 months for Thomas-Asante. Last May, he opened his international account against Nigeria in the 2025 Unity Cup, and a year later, he helped spearhead Coventry’s Championship title charge with 13 goals in 33 appearances. It has been a remarkable rise for a player who rose through the ranks from the English National League and will play top-flight football after 10 seasons as a senior professional. “I’m really eager to keep my head down, keep ready because I’m so passionate about my nation,” Thomas-Asante said on heading to his first major tournament after success with Coventry. He has been rewarded for his great efforts this season with the iconic Ghana No 10 shirt, previously donned by Stephen Appiah, who captained the Black Stars to their World Cup record quarter-final finish in 2010, and André Ayew.

Arsenal, Millwall, Reading and Tottenham turned Semenyo down as a youngster, and Palace let him go at 15 after eight weeks on trial. “I’ve never been so upset in my life about football. I was crying to my dad,” he told The Guardian in 2024. “I stopped playing for a year, just focused on school.” But, via a youth academy programme he earned a trial at Bristol City in 2017 and signed his first professional contract there. He had three loans spells before establishing himself, then joined Bournemouth for £10m in 2023, and Man City for £64m in January. “Sometimes I get memories flash up on my phone from when I was out on loan, and I compare them with now,” he said. “You go on a trip down memory lane and it is like: ‘Wow, you’ve come a long way.’” He has the word ‘chosen’ tattooed on his back. He told GQ: “I looked at [basketballer] Jayson Tatum's tattoos – he has the name of the street he grew up on and other stuff, and it said ‘chosen’ on his back. I was like, you know what? This resembles me. I feel like the chosen one, I feel like God's chosen me to be in this position.”