ACCRA, Ghana - Ghana picked Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng in a preliminary 26-man World Cup squad on Monday. The group will be trimmed to a final 23-man squad after a friendly game against the Netherlands on May 31, the Ghana Football Association said. AC Milans Essien and Schalkes Boateng were named after returning to international football last year. They had both asked for time away from the national team in the years after the last World Cup. Ghana captain and striker Asamoah Gyan and midfielder Sulley Muntari were also included and are set to play in their third consecutive World Cups. Ghana was the best-performing African team at the 2010 tournament, reaching the quarterfinals and just missing out on the semifinals after a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay in South Africa. Ghana will play the United States, Germany and Portugal in Group G in Brazil, and opens its campaign against the U.S. in Natal on June 16. Ghana beat the U.S. in the second round of the last World Cup. Coach Kwesi Appiah didnt reveal what his target was for the team that nearly became the first African nation into the last four of a World Cup four years ago. "Once the players are all fit we hope to deliver," Appiah said. "Every coach has a target and l believe in my players and the national team, but l cannot tell where we will get to. The only thing l can say is we will not disgrace Ghanaians." Essien missed the 2010 World Cup through injury and is likely facing his last chance to play at the showpiece in Brazil. Boateng stepped down from national team duties in 2011 but was recalled to Ghanas squad toward the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign late last year. Ghana will play in its third straight World Cup in Brazil. Appiah also picked Marseilles Andre Ayew, Juventus Kwadwo Asamoah and young attacking midfielder Wakaso Mubarak. Defender Jeffrey Schlupp, who plays for Englands Leicester City, was the biggest surprise in the initial squad. The GFA announced Monday that Ghana would play the Netherlands in Rotterdam on May 31 and South Korea in Miami on June 9 in its final World Cup warm-ups before facing Jurgen Klinsmanns U.S. team in Brazil. ___ Provisional squad: Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey, Fatawu Dauda, Stephen Adams. Defenders: Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare, Harrison Afful, Jeffrey Schlupp, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Jerry Akaminko, Rashid Sumaila. Midfielders: Michael Essien, Rabiu Mohammed, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah, Sulley Muntari, Albert Adomah, Wakaso Mubarak, Christian Atsu, David Accam, Andre Ayew, Afriyie Acquah. Forwards: Asamoah Gyan, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Abdul Majeed Waris, Jordan Ayew. Cheap Swingman Grizzlies Jerseys . The Big Man finished 3-1 in Week 19, and sits at 53-24 on the season. Now Schultz is ready for more action. Cheap Shareef Abdur-Rahim Jersey . 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After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers.DAYTON, Ohio -- D.J. Evans is charitably listed at 5-foot-9. His coach and teammates tease him that he looks a foot shorter. Yet he stood awfully tall for Albany on Tuesday night. Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead the Great Danes to their first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Marys in the First Four. Evans, an often overlooked component in Albanys lineup, belied his height with nine rebounds to go with three assists. "Hes about 4-foot-8, so hes really impressive," laughed his running mate at guard, Peter Hooley, who had 20 points. "I dont think theres another 4-8 guard who could go in there and get that many boards. He did what he needed to do to get this win." It was a signature victory for the America East Conference tournament champs, who had come up empty in three previous trips to the big dance. "It means a lot," said an emotional coach Will Brown. "Theres no better feeling. Like I told our kids, were going to be in the history books at the University of Albany forever." The Great Danes (19-14) advance to meet overall No. 1 seed and top-ranked Florida on Thursday in Orlando. But that was a concern for another day. It was a wild game of incredible turnarounds, with the Great Danes bolting to leads of 13-0 and 21-2, only to have The Mount (16-17) bounce back with a 21-2 run of its own to pull even. Hooley, one of three Australians on the Albany roster, hit two free throws with 2:43 remaining to stretch the lead to 65-62. After Julian Norfleet countered with a bucket, Hooley again pounded his way to the basket and lofted a shot over a defender for a 67-64 lead at the 2-minute mark. It stayed that way with the teams missing big shots. Rashad Whack and Norfleet each missed potential tying 3s -- Whacks rolled almost inside the rim and then bounded away. "When it hit the rim, I thought it was going to go in," Whack said softly. Evans was fouled with 12.6 seconds left and hit both shots to increase the lead to five points -- and out of reach of another long-range shot. Evans was most proud of his rebounding. "They shot a lot of 3s and there were a lot of long rebounds," he said with a grin. "I was just at the right place at the right time.dddddddddddd" After playing two years of junior-college ball and sitting behind a senior starter a year ago, Brown told Evans his day would eventually come. "Hes the happiest kid in the world right now," Brown said. Norfleet then missed another 3 and Albany finally could call itself an NCAA winner. Will Miller, a freshman who came off the bench, led The Mount with 21 points, all on 3s. But he didnt get off a shot in the last 3:32 after making back-to-back 3s to draw the Mountaineers within a point. Whack added 16 points and Sam Prescott 14 for The Mount, which electrified the crowd at the University of Dayton with 3-point fireworks. The Mountaineers hit 12 of 37 shots behind the arc to time and again come back from deficits. The glut of 3-pointers was nothing new for the Mountaineers. They came in with an offence heavily dependent on shots behind the arc. They averaged 9 of 25 on 3-pointers coming in. Albany had made some racket in the NCAAs before, but had never come out on top. In 2006, the Great Danes led by double figures in the second half but lost to Connecticut, 72-59. A year later, they held their own before falling Virginia, 84-57. A year ago, as a 15 seed, they battled Duke throughout before coming up short, 73-61. Mount St. Marys was also making its fourth NCAA appearance, although it had won once before -- a victory over Coppin State in 2008 in the old format of an opening-round leading into the big tournament. Albany led 35-31 at the break, but that didnt tell the story of one bizarre half. The Mount couldnt do much right for the first 8-plus minutes. The Great Danes raced to a 13-0 lead. The Mountaineers missed misfired on their first 11 shots from the field, including six behind the arc. "A lot of teams would have folded," said Mount coach Jamion Christian. "Our guys didnt do that. They took the punch and they bounced back." Things quickly turned around, with Mount going on an 18-0 run. Like a couple of sparring partners, the teams kept trading flurries in the second half. Down 45-41, Albany went on a 10-1 run. Trailing 60-53, the Mountaineers scored nine of the next 12 capped by Millers two 3s to cut the deficit to a point. That set the stage for Evans to play like a giant. 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