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. Glen Rice Hornets Jersey . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night. Malik Monk Hornets Jersey .The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Marvin-Williams-Hornets-Jersey/ . The 27th-ranked Austrian underwent surgery on a torn tendon in October and needs more time to recover, the Austria Press Agency reports on Saturday. Dell Curry Hornets Jersey . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist. Percy Miller Jersey . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall.Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Rudy Gay scored 31 points, DeMarcus Cousins had another double-double and the Sacramento Kings snapped an eight- game losing skid with a 99-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Darren Collison scored 23 points with five rebounds and five assists, and Cousins overcame his worst shooting night of the season to post 20 points and 19 rebounds. The trio of Gay, Collison and Cousins combined for nearly 75 percent of Sacramentos points. We got the team to play for each other, said Collison. I think the key for us was executing down the stretch. Cousins picked up his 14th double-double in his last 16 games but shot 6- for-24 from the floor and turned the ball over four times before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. C.J. Miles and David West had 17 points apiece to lead Indiana, while George Hill gave 14, six boards and four assists in limited minutes off the bench. Both teams were terrific from the foul line, as Sacramento went 26-of-29 from the stripe and Indiana finished 23-for-25. Gay and Cousins combined to make all 19 of their attempts. The plan was not to send them to the free throw line, said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. We werent very disciplined with our hands and our boody position .dddddddddddd. that combined with turning the ball over a little too much in the first half put us in a deep hole that we couldnt recover from. The Kings raced out to a big lead behind 12 first-quarter points from Collison. Their lead reached 18 points twice in the late stages of the first before settling for a 34-21 lead after one. Again Sacramento looked prime to break the game open, with an 8-0 run early in the second making it 46-25. The spread grew to 23 points following a pair of Cousins free throws, but again Indiana closed the quarter strong and went into halftime down just 14. The Pacers cut their deficit to single digits on a Miles layup early in the fourth. Cousins fouled out with the Kings up by eight with 1:46 to play, but Roy Hibbert hit two free throws and Miles followed with a pair from the stripe to get Indiana within four. Collisons pull-up jumper at the other end helped Sacramento hold on. Game Notes The Kings avoided their first nine-game slide since the 2008-09 season ... Indiana had won four of five at home in the series ... Luis Scola had 13 points off the bench for Indiana ... Indianas reserves outscored Sacramentos, 56-11. ' ' '