Ghana suffered a setback in their quest for a 5th continental title after a 1-2 defeat to Cape Verde in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
It was a pulsating game at the Félix Houphouët Boigny Stadium on Sunday.
Garry Rodrigues got the winner in injury time as the Cape Verdeans lead Group B, which also has record champions Egypt and Mozambique.
The Onua Sports team rated the players who did battle for Ghana.
Check the ratings below:
Richard Ofori – 7: He made some incredible saves for the Black Stars, keeping them in the game on multiple occasions. But his first half parry of the ball gave Jamiro Monteiro a rather cheap goal.
Denis Odoi – 5: He was average in lateral defence and was beaten on 1-on-1 situations by the opponents but he came through for the team on some occasions.
Gideon Mensah – 3: Another average lateral defender on the day. He was slow on some occasions but when he tackled, he came in hard. His crosses were not consistent on the day.
Mohammed Salisu – 4: The Monaco defender may be suffering from lack of match-playing time, coming from a long injury lay-off recently. Though he won the aerial challenges, he lost concentration on some occasions especially the one that resulted in the match winner for Cape Verde.
Alexander Djiku – 8: A deserved Man of the Match. He fought hard in defence, coming to the rescue of the team on many occasions. Despite the referee’s warning before the corner kick that resulted in his goal, he literally threw caution to the wind and headed home the equalizer.
Iddrisu Baba – 2: The Spain-based midfielder was sloppy when needed most, incurring a Yellow Card on one occasion. Some of his passes were not accurate, plunging the team under pressure during those moments.
Majeed Ashimeru – 6: He had an average debut in the AFCON. He took chances but was, perhaps, discouraged by his disallowed effort. He would have been spurred on if referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo had admitted that powerful strike.
Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer – 1: The German-based midfielder failed the team with his positioning, leading to that disallowed goal. He still has a lot to learn in continental competitions. This is the African Cup!
Antoine Semenyo – 6: Another debutant in the Cup of Nations. But he took some chances, squaring a pass to Joseph Paintsil across the Cape Verde goal area. He was above average.
Joseph Paintsil – 6: The Genk winger pushed hard but not harder. He made some incursions but fluffing them at the end. He was also above average for his maiden Cup of Nations.
Jordan Ayew – 5: Perhaps, the most experienced in the Starting XI, Jordan failed to release balls. He won free kicks for the side but none could produce what was intended. He needs to push more in the next game given his experience at the tournament.
SUBSTITUTES
Iñaki Williams – 3: A maiden tournament for the Athletic Bilbao striker! He had a few minutes on the pitch and made some chances count, others not. A starting role, probably, in the next game will give more room for him to perform.
Andre Dede Ayew – 3: Captain Ayew came on with energy, perhaps, because he equalled the record of Robert Song and Ahmed Hassan. He was good with his tackles but the time of play was also not enough for him.
Osman Bukari – 3: A rather calm night for the Red Star Belgrade player. More could be seen from him in his next game.
Ernest Nuamah – 4: The youngster took on the Cape Verde defence but not as characteristic of the Lyon player we know. He will also be watched in the second game as this was his debut.
Salis Samed – 3: The Lens midfielder was overpowered on the few 1V1 tackles. It’s his debut and he needs to be reminded ‘This is the African Cup!’.
