But for some individual mistakes, the Black Stars of Ghana would have walked away with three points on Thursday in their second Group B encounter against Egypt at the ongoing 2023 African Cup of Nations(AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
Egypt had to come back twice to share the spoils in a pulsating game which ended two all amidst a Mohammed Kudus’ masterclass.
It was also a massive improvement from the previous game which saw Ghana shockingky losing 2-1 to Cape Verde.
With that in mind, Ghana’s Starman, Kudus said in the post match press conference that, it was possible the Black Stars would beat Mozambique in their final Group B encounter to qualify to the next stage of the competition.
Although Ghana could have avoided the situation where a lot of calculations would be required to decide their fate, it seems to be the only way out.
With 24 teams splitted into six groups of four with the top two in each – plus the four best third-placed sides – going through to the Round of 16, Ghana could qualify if they win against Mozambique on Monday.
Man of the Match, Kudus told the press, he would have loved his goals to give Ghana better results but only had a point, though they deserved more.
The goals they scored were some silly mistakes from us which we should learn from as we put this game aside and focus on the next one,” he said.
Inaki Williams’ terrible back pass to Richard Ofori in the 69th minute was rather met by Mostafa Mohamed who equalised for Egypt after Kudus put Ghana in the lead in the 45th minute.
Kudus immediately restored the lead again in the 71st minute only for Inaki’s substitute, Osman Bukari to dribble into his own box and give the ball away for another equaliser from Omar Marmoush in the 76th minute.
Kudus added that, Egypt was a good side and the Black Stars showed some great enthusiasm and energy.
Credit to all the boys, everyone gave their all and we need to do same in the next game,” he stated.
For qualification to the next stage, Kudus said, it was very possible as they would finish the last game with the same focus and fighting spirit.
We need to do more than that in the last game to get all the three points and see what would happen later,” he added.
The ultimate aim he said, was to win the trophy but would take things one step at a time.
The focus is one game after the other and we would do well to bring the trophy home,” he stressed.
Meanwhile some Ghanaian fans in Abidjan who were hoping to hit the streets to celebrate Ghana’s victory had to put their drinks back on ice following the disappointing 2-2 draw.
They would be waiting with bated breath for a win against Mozambique to enter into wild jubilations.
With support from MTN, over 150 Ghanaians are in Ivory Coast to support the Black Stars in all their group matches.
