Ghana eyeing counter-attacking opportunities

Follow the reaction as two of the heavyweight pre-tournament favourites could only draw as they aimed to bounce back after disappointing opening games

Ed Mackey and Max Mathews

January 18, 2024 at 5:54 PM EST

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Egypt 2-2 Ghana: How it happenedGhana eyeing counter-attacking opportunities

7′ Egypt 0-0 Ghana

Ghana look keen to exploit the counter attack and a driving run through the heart of the Egypt midfield from Ashimeru nearly brings the first real chance of the game.

Unfortunately, his through ball for Semenyo was mistimed and the offside flag was subsequently raised after El Shenawi did well to deny the Bournemouth forward.

Pair of early Ghana fouls before Kudus lets fly

3′ Egypt 0-0 Ghana

There have already been a couple of fouls from the Ghanaian players who are clearly keen to get in the faces of their opponents.

Ashimeru is perhaps fortunate to avoid a yellow card for his foul, but he is now on the referee’s radar.

Moments later, Kudus goes for the spectacular with a strike from 25 yards but he doesn’t get the connection he wanted and it is easy to collect for El Shenawi.

Egypt vs Ghana is underway!

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1′ Egypt 0-0 Ghana

Egypt get the ball rolling and the second round of matches in Group B are underway!

National anthems sung, kick-off moments away

The teams are out on the pitch, they have sung their national anthems and we are just a few minutes away from the action getting underway.

The Egypt fans are making some noise, but they are being drowned out by the brilliantly vocal Ghanaians.

Players gathered in the tunnel

Both sets of players have gathered in the tunnel and will take to the pitch shortly here in Abidjan.

A reminder of how Group B looks ahead of kick-off:

All four teams have played one match

Don’t expect too many goals!

These two teams have met four times at AFCON through the years:

Let’s hope today’s game goes against the grain of their previous AFCON meetings!

The main man going through the gears

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There is always pressure on Salah, whether he is playing for Liverpool or Egypt.

But, after the draw on matchday one, that pressure has cranked up a few notches. His penalty bailed out the 2021 runners up in the last match, but he missed the target with his three shots prior to the spot kick.

He might not be able to squander as many chances against stronger opposition.

Ghana fans making themselves heard

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Ghana come into today’s game as underdogs, but their fans will be hoping to see them get off the mark in this AFCON campaign.

They have plenty of supporters inside Le Félicia in Abidjan and they are already making themselves heard.

A huge boost for Ghana

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Had it not been for the presence of Mohamed Salah this evening, there would be a lot more fuss being made about the return of Kudus to full fitness.

He missed the opening game of the tournament and how Ghana missed him!

His return to Hughton’s midfield provides a huge boost and his manager will be hoping he can help with creativity in the final third.

After all, he is the third-biggest star of AFCON 2023.

GO FURTHER

Mohammed Kudus: AFCON’s biggest box office star after Mo Salah and Victor Osimhen

Nigeria hang on to beat Ivory Coast

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A huge result for both teams in the game that just finished between the tournament hosts and Nigeria.

Troost-Ekong’s second-half penalty was the difference in a game of very few clear chances.

Nigeria move into second place in Group A, level on points with Equatorial Guinea. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, are third and face the group leaders in their final game.

Ghana team news: Kudus returns in three changes

Starting XI: Ofori, Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah; Salis, Ashimeru, Kudus; Semenyo, Williams, J. Ayew.

And there are also three changes for Ghana and the biggest one of those sees Mohammed Kudus return to the starting XI. He replaces Konigsdorffer while Salis Adbul Samed replaces Idrissu Baba and Inaki Williams is in for Joseph Paintsil.

Egypt team news: Three changes from Mozambique draw

Starting XI: El Shenawi, Kamal, Abdelmonem, Hegazy, Hamdi; Fathi, Elneny, Ashour; Salah, Mohamed, Marmoush.

There are three changes for Egypt this evening as Kamal, Ashour and Marmoush come in for Hany, Zizo and Trezeguet.

Last time out: Ghana 1-2 Cape VerdeGhana 1-2 Cape Verde

Goals: Alexander Djiku – Jamiro Monteiro, Garry Rodrigues

And there was a late goal in Group B’s other game as well.

This time, it was a winner as Garry Rodrigues struck in the second minute of stoppage time to inflict arguably the shock of the tournament so far on Ghana.

It was Cape Verde who took the lead through Jamiro Monteiro in the 17th minute, but when Ghana levelled through Alexander Djiku, there was an expectation they would find a winner.

That winner never transpired for Chris Hughton’s side as it was their opponents who seized the moment through Rodrigues.

Troost-Ekong smashes in penalty to give Nigeria the lead!

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Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria

We have a goal in the game between Ivory Coast and Nigeria!

And it has come from the penalty spot after Osimhen was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty area following a VAR check.

Somewhat surprisingly, it wasn’t the Napoli striker who stepped up to take it. Instead, William Troost-Ekong took on the responsibility and he smashed his penalty down the middle of the goal and into the back of the net.

You can follow the last 20 minutes of that match here.

Last time out: Egypt 2-2 Mozambique

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Egypt 2-2 Mozambique

Goals: Mostafa Mohamed, Mohamed Salah – Witi, Clesio Bauque

It was Mohamed Salah to the rescue in matchday one as his Egypt side were staring down the barrel of defeat against Mozambique.

The Liverpool forward stepped up and scored a 97th-minute equaliser after goals in the space of three second-half minutes from Witi and Clesio Bauque had given Mozambique a 2-1 lead.

They had to come from behind after Mostafa Mohamed had opened the scoring for Egypt inside two minutes, at which point they probably thought they would cruise to a routine victory.

Fortunately, they look could rely on Salah from 12 yards to rescue a point.

One hour until team news, two hours until kick-off

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A quick time check for the game you’re all interested in.

We will bring you team news as soon as we get it in an hour’s time and then we will be counting down to kick-off.

So, sit tight and enjoy the build up.

Ivory Coast and Nigeria level at half time

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There hasn’t been much to get excited about in the first half of the game between Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

The two teams haven’t created too many chances in the opening 45 minutes and the deadlock remains unbroken at half time.

Perhaps the best opportunity of the game fell to Victor Osimhen early in the match but he fired over from inside the penalty area.

A reminder that you can follow live updates from that game by using this link.

Ghana stunned in first round of results

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There were a pair of shocks in the first round of fixtures in Group B as both Egypt and Ghana failed to win.

We’ll dive into both games a little more shortly.

How does Group B look?

We’ve had Group A action so far today but it will finish with a Group B fixture.

Ahead of Egypt vs Ghana, here is how it is shaping up:

All four teams have played one match