The Story of Kwesi Appiah at AFCON 2015

Kwesi Appiah is a name that many English lower league football fans might recognise for being a journeyman around the country. But the forward also made seven appearances for Ghana, even scoring for his national team at the African Cup Of Nations. But how did Appiah (whose experience before the 2015 AFCON came predominantly in the third, fourth and fifth tiers of England) go from working for Transport For London to starting in the final of the tournament just three years later? Football Park spoke to the striker who retold the story of his journey.

The EFL and non-league have a reputation these days for being home to many international footballers who represent lesser nations in the likes of the Caribbean, Africa and even parts of Europe. But a decade ago when Appiah was up and coming it was less of a regularity.

“I believe I was one of the first people that ever bridged that gap of people from lower divisions coming in and playing at these tournaments”, said Appiah.

But the then Cambridge United loanee wasn’t just playing for any old nation, it was recent 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists and four times AFCON winners Ghana.

Originally selected as part of the 30-man preliminary squad by the recently appointed Avram Grant. Appiah’s impressive goalscoring form in England combined with Ghana’s desire to scout more representatives playing in Europe meant he was the right man for the former Chelsea boss.

#GoalOfTheDay took place on this day in 2019 as Kwesi Appiah scored an injury-time equaliser to rescue a point at home to Lincoln City ⚽️ #AFCW 🟡🔵 pic.twitter.com/O715vjn1R7
— AFC Wimbledon (@AFCWimbledon) November 2, 2022

Grant had faith in Appiah which he recalled: “This was his way of saying ‘I’m in charge’... ‘this is a player that I’ve brought and I’m going to show you that he’s worthy of being here’”.

After battling through an injury scare the time finally came to join up with the rest of the squad in Ghana to participate in the training camp which would decide the players’ fates, Appiah described his family as “elated” for him, especially his dad’s Ghanaian family and his mum who had supported his footballing career since a young age.

The then 24-year-old managed to keep the manager on his side throughout the training camp despite plenty of noise from fans and the media questioning his inclusion. He said: “Once you play football for so long, you don’t really consider the outside noise so much in games anymore… it becomes a bit of a background noise.”

But despite having a positive attitude towards the doubters, when it was announced that he would be included in the final 23-man AFCON squad Appiah still remembered thinking “Should I have been there?”

Ghana’s 2015 AFCON side featured many names that would go on to make history for the country including the eventual all-time top scorer, Asamoah Gyan (51 goals in 109 games), current record appearance holder Andre Ayew (120 appearances) and his brother Jordan Ayew (108 appearances). Therefore Appiah knew the quality he was up against and wasn’t wholly surprised when he did not get on the pitch in either of the opening two group stage fixtures.

If it wasn’t for a stoppage time winner in the second game, Appiah might not have made an appearance at all but the time finally came in the final group stage match, a must-win game in which the Black Stars were trailing when the substitution was made.

Buzzing to have scored on my international debut for @ghanafaofficial very proud moment. 🙌👌 #BlackStars pic.twitter.com/TwTt1KO9QP
— Kwesi Appiah (@kwes1appiah) January 7, 2015

“I came on at 1-0 to South Africa and in my opinion really impressed so much that we turned the game around and won 2-1… I was pivotal in getting the energy right in the team and getting the momentum back.”

Celebrations commenced as Appiah proceeded to name the few players who helped him settle into a national team squad full of players and staff he had never met before, he said:

“Christian Atsu, rest in peace, he took me under his wing, looked after me, Jonathan Mensah who is like a brother to me, I still speak to him a lot now, I will never forget how welcome they made me feel”.

The first knockout round (or the quarter-finals) would be a day that Appiah would go on to agree with as the “best moment of his career” as not only was he selected for the matchup against Guinea, but he also scored his first international goal on his first full start. Latching onto a defensive passing error and slotting it past the keeper at the first attempt in the 44th minute.

It felt like Kwesi Appiah had finally arrived and instantly repaid his manager’s faith.

“I was extremely extremely proud in that moment, to go on to perform the way I did, I think that match I got man of the match… I was playing really well.

WOW! Full debut for @ghana Amazing victory, delighted to have scored and to get MOM!!! 🙌👏😁 #BlackStars #AFCON2015 ⚽️🏆 pic.twitter.com/Wx6DHnomUM
— Kwesi Appiah (@kwes1appiah) February 1, 2015

“That was the moment where I realised ‘I’m where I’m supposed to be and now I’ve got to seize this opportunity”. Ghana would go on to win the game 3-0 and advance to a semi-final against the home nation, Equatorial Guinea.

The semi-final was another comfortable 3-0 victory with Appiah starting again, this time his influence was winning a penalty for the first goal and assisting the third, there was plenty of controversy of the pitch though. “All the energy was towards them Equatorial Guinea... fans were on the pitch, there was a helicopter that came down to separate the fans, it was madness… the home fans tried to smash up our bus… we were just happy to get back to the hotel safely… there’s no rules out there so anything can happen.”

On a hot February afternoon in Equatorial Guinea, Appiah’s Ghana faced off against Ivory Coast to decide who would become kings of Africa.

The striker listed some of the names he had to face including the Toure brothers, a prime Wilfried Bony, Gervinho, Eric Bailly and Serge Aurier.

“Before 2012 I was working in an office for the TFL... it’s still an amazing trajectory to be where I was and to end up on the same pitch as him Yaya Toure is a remarkable experience for me.”

Walking out onto the field sporting the number 2 on his back which the player explained he “gravitated towards”, the final was in the end a cagey culmination of tired players who had already had a long tournament and season, which led to the scoreline reading 0-0 after 120 minutes.

Appiah reflects on not realising the importance of the match for a while after playing in it as he said: “I was just out there with a smile on my face… I didn’t have that pressure. Looking back now, that probably is the most pivotal game in my football history just because of the significance of it”.

However when the players stepped up to take their penalties, Appiah was unable to as he’d been substituted with 20 minutes left to play. A decision that the forward agrees with as he knew how fatigued he’d become trying to cover ground for his fellow strike partner Gyan, who was not fully fit. Whatsmore dealing with the pressure of taking a penalty in one of the biggest moments in your national team’s history is no simple task.

As Appiah and co watched on, Ghana had a strong start to the shootout, scoring the opening two penalties which their opponents had missed. But after the scoreline was squared the goalkeepers eventually ended up taking a penalty each, which Ghana’s Brimah Razak missed, ending Ghana’s dreams of a first AFCON title in 33 years.

His reaction to the defeat almost a decade on now is: “As I’ve got older and obviously progressing through the latter stages of my career you sort of realise that not everybody’s lucky enough to be in a position to create history, and that was my moment and unfortunately it didn’t go the way I would’ve liked for it to have gone.”

He has kept that special tournament as a fond memory though, “it’s become a pivotal moment in my career that I look back on very fondly and it’s become an amazing memory for me and my journey”. Following the tournament Appiah continued to play English football, eventually leaving Crystal Palace in 2017, having stints in Norway and India before returning to the EFL.

Unfortunately his Ghana career was disrupted after just six appearances in 2015 after tearing his ACL whilst training with the national team.

Glory to God! 2 Wins and a Goal! It was a pleasure! 🇬🇭🙏🏽❤️ #Blackstars #Ghana #Blessed #Afcon2019 pic.twitter.com/l11UrFOnYM
— Kwesi Appiah (@kwes1appiah) March 27, 2019

“Even though I was out for 18 months with my ACL, at the earliest opportunity they were trying to get me back in because they realised how important I was in the cog of that successful period.” He went on to receive one more international call up whilst playing for Wimbledon in 2019, where he featured once and scored his second and final goal in his final game for the Black Stars.

Now aged 34, Appiah is playing in the National League South for Boreham Wood where he recently won their October Player Of The Month award. The proud memories of his quick rise from semi-pro football to a continental cup final and his trip to the west African coast in 2015 will stick by him long after his career is over.

Read more about Kwesi's opinions on the new FA Cup format here.