Twelve members of the Ghana natonal team arrived yesterday morning in Nairobi. Among the arrivals are Yakubu Abubakar, Mathew Amoah, Kofi Amponsah and John Mensah.

The rest, including captain Stephen Appiah, who plays for Juventus in the Italian Serie A, are expected in Nairobi this morning.

The stars are without midfielder Michael Essien of Olympique Lyon, European Champions League quarter-finalists and runaway leaders in the French League.

"We will miss him because he is one of the best players in that position now," said the coach. Also absent from the team is defender Sammy Kuffour of German giants Bayern Munich.

The Black stars will play the Kenyan national team in a friendly match today in preparation for their World Cup qualifiers this weekend.