Ghana was held by Egypt to a 2-2 draw at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.
Both sides went into the Group B match in need of a positive result, after Egypt opened their AFCON campaign with a draw against Mozambique and Ghana were beaten by Cape Verde.
Mohammed Kudus scored twice in the game to win the Man of the Match Award on his return to the side after missing Ghana’s 1-2 loss to Cape Verde due to a reported hamstring injury.
Mohammed Kudus blasted in to put Ghana ahead in first-half stoppage time, a minute after Pharaohs captain Mohamed Salah was forced off through injury.
Omar Marmoush levelled but West Ham’s Kudus quickly restored the Black Stars’ lead with a deflected effort.
However, Mostafa Mohamed stabbed in to give Egypt their second point and leave Ghana winless after two Group B games.
There were late chances at either end to win it, with Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori saving Emam Ashour’s shot before Pharaohs keeper Mohamed El Shenawy failed to clear a corner which Iddrisu Baba could not divert into goal.
Touted as the two teams that would comfortably top their easy-looking Group B, the underwhelming Egyptian and Ghanaian teams must now win their final group games to qualify.
These are the five things we learnt from the game;
Mohammed Kudus is a superstar
Enough had been said about the West ham United Star prior to the AFCON tournament. Mohammed Kudus was Ghana’s most impressive player in the 2-2 draw against the Pharaohs of Egypt. What a way to score his first AFCON goal for Ghana against Egypt. Kudus broke the deadlock in brilliant fashion as he beat three defenders before placing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. The highly rated midfielder lived up to expectations on his return to the team from an injury that forced him to miss Ghana’s opening game by scoring a brace. Kudus was named Man of the Match for his remarkable performance. If the Black Stars are to go further in the tournament, they will need the magic Kudus provides on a daily basis.
Osman Bukari had a debut AFCON to forget
The Red Star Belgrade winger was making his AFCON debut for the Black Stars but had a terrible night to forget. Bukari played a big role in Egypt’s second goal that was scored by Mostafa Mohamed in the 74th minute of the game. He was sub after just 16 minutes in the game after being introduced in the 73rd minute to replace Inaki Williams.
Hughton’s substitution questionable
Many fans were stunned by Chris Hughton’s substitutions, particularly the decision to replace Majeed Ashimeru for Baba Iddrisu. Despite delivering another top performance, the Anderlecht midfielder was replaced in the 62nd minute and that caused a lot of problems for the Black Stars. The introduction of Osman Bukari for Inaki Williams, instead Joseph Paintsil, was also questioned after the Red Star Belgrade winger gifted the Pharaohs their equalizer.
Ghana shot themselves in the foot
Ghana gifted Egypt with 2 goals following two defensive errors by Inaki Williams and Osman Bukari in the second half of the game. Inaki Williams’ awful back pass was pounced upon by Marmoush, who went round the goalkeeper and found the empty net. Again Ghana got themselves into trouble when Osman Bukari, just on for Williams, dribbled into his own box and was robbed by Trezeguet, who squared for Mohamed to finish.
Chris Hughton needs to solve the defence
Ghana coach Chris Hughton maintained the same defence line which conceded 2 goals against Cape Verde in the first game. The Black Stars has now conceded 4 goals in the opening two games in the AFCON. Chris Hughton must solve the defence if Ghana is to get a win against Mozambique in the last game of the group to have any chance of qualifying to the next stage of the competition.