Preparations for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers have already begun for some teams, with friendly matches taking place. On Tuesday, one of the teams qualified for the play-offs, the Ghana Black Stars, played a friendly match against Japan in Yokohama. The selection, led by coach Kwesi Appiah, included only 17 players, as several key executives were left at their respective clubs. The players who made the trip were Fatau Dauda, Razak Braimah, Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare, Harrison Afful, Kissi Boateng, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Rashid Sumaila, Rabiu Mohammed, Yussif Raman, Albert Adomah, Solomon Asante, Christian Atsu, Frank Acheampong, Abdul Majeed Waris, and Mahatma Otoo.
Meanwhile, South Africa engaged in another friendly match, this time against Zimbabwe at Orlando Stadium on the continent. Bafana Bafana, despite being eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers, maintained the match, originally planned in anticipation of qualifying for the final round, but ended up remaining at the dock in favor of Ethiopia.
