Ghana pursuing teen sensation Adu for World Cup

ACCRA, Ghana (Ticker) - Teenage star Freddy Adu may have a difficult decision on his hands.

Ghana coach Ratomir Duikovic has told BBC Sport he plans to offer the 16-year-old Adu a place on the Black Stars’ squad for next summer’s World Cup.

Adu, who was born in Ghana but moved to America at age 8, previously has said he is not interested in playing for anyone other than the United States, where he plays professionally for Major League Soccer’s D.C. United.

“We have decided to contact Adu to ask him to decide whether he would like to play for Ghana or the United States,” Dujkovic told BBC Sport. “In the coming days, he will be contacted by the football association.”

Adu has played at the youth level for the United States but has expressed a desire to play at the World Cup in Germany. Ghana, which was drawn into Group E along with the United States on Friday, hopes to entice Adu to line up against his adoptive country in Nuremburg on June 22.

“We have just over a month to persuade him to come,” Dujkovic said. “I believe that if he has sentiment for Ghana, he will play for the Black Stars. And playing at the World Cup would be a big opportunity for him to show the rest of the world, not just America, that he is a great (soccer player).”

Although Adu widely is expected to be invited to a United States training camp in January, U.S. men’s national team coach Bruce Arena has indicated an unlikelihood that he would be included on the American World Cup squad.

Adu can switch nationalities until he has made a senior appearance or has reached the age of 21. He has represented the U.S. at under-14, under-17 and under-20 levels, starring at the FIFA World Youth Championships in 2003.