Ghana’s Black Stars drew 2-2 with Egypt on Thursday evening, despite an excellent display by West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus, who scored twice on his return from injury.
Twice, late in the first and second halves, Ghana seized the lead, only to be twice brought back by individual mistakes made by Osman Bukari and Iñaki Williams in the latter portion of the game.
A crowd of about 20,800 people attended the match at the Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, where Mohamed Kudus displayed his skill and reminded everyone of his quality in his first game of the year.
In the third minute of extra time during the first half, he deftly sidestepped opponents outside the Egypt box and scored from a distance after a ball from Salid Abdul Samed. This happened notably not long after Mohamed Salah, a star winger for Liverpool, left the field injured.
Early in, Egypt controlled the ball without posing a threat to Richard Ofori, Ghana’s goalie. In the fifth minute, Ashimeru set up a play that Egypt’s goalkeeper, Ahmed Elshenawi, saved to prevent Ghana’s first effort on goal.
Although wingers Jordan Ayew, Inaki Wiliams, and Salis Abdul Samed helped defensively, Rui Vitoria’s plan to use diagonal passes to target Ghanaian fullbacks Denis Odoi and Gideon Mensah was not successful.
Egypt went on the attack in the second half after initially concentrating on possession. A VAR review in the 51st minute saw a goal disallowed for offside. Additionally, the Ghanaians let opportunities slip through; Semenyo’s one-on-one try and Inaki Williams’ mishandled back ball resulted in an Egyptian goal.
Even though both teams had their moments of brilliance, the match ended in a 2-2 draw, emphasizing how intense the game was.
