Emmanuel Adebayor did not mince his words and harshly criticized Ghana’s disappointing performance against Mozambique on the third and final day of the Afcon 2023 group stage in Ivory Coast. Despite a 2-0 advantage thanks to a double from Jordan Ayew from the penalty spot, the Black Stars saw their qualification evaporate in stoppage time, conceding a frustrating 2-2 draw against the Mambas.
Ghana missed its chance to qualify for the round of 16 of Afcon 2023. Beaten from the start by Cape Verde, the Black Stars managed to grab a 2-2 draw against the Pharaohs of Egypt. They were hoping for a brilliant result against Mozambique to quietly qualify for the round of 16, having their destiny in hand. But nothing happened as Ghanaians had imagined.
Indeed, the Black Stars got off to a good start against Mozambique, leading 2-0 thanks to a double penalty from Jordan Ayew. But in stoppage time, the Mambas made a perfect comeback to hold Ghana 2-2, a draw which complicated things for Chris Hughton’s gang, Ghanaian coach. With two small points, Ghana is almost eliminated from Afcon 2023 and are waiting for a miracle to be among the four best thirds at the end of the group stage.
Emmanuel Adebayor smashes Ghana
Ghana was brought back in a rather humiliating manner by Mozambique in stoppage time. Emmanuel Adebayor, present at the Alassane Ouattara stadium in Abidjan, expressed his disappointment with the Black Stars. The Togolese legend highlighted the lack of motivation and desire in their game.
“They played without desire, without motivation, without communication. It’s like they’re there to have fun. It’s completely bad,” Emmanuel Adebayor first said in an interview with George Addo, a Ghanaian journalist. The former Gunner highlighted that the Ghanaian players were aware of the importance of the match for the country but overlooked the crucial opportunity to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2023 Afcon.
“I’m quite disappointed with this match. They knew they had their destiny in their hands. They knew they had to win. They knew it was a key match for the country and the way they are playing is simply incredible. They have no urgency. It’s really, disappointing and I don’t know where the Black Stars will go from here because two points might not be enough. I don’t know where they want to go. I think the best thing is for them to go home to Ghana so they can all return to their clubs. We don’t see them doing anything. Let’s put things into perspective: even if they qualify, what will they do? It is no longer of any use,” added Emmanuel Adebayor.
Ghana disappointed everyone
After a great FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where they beat South Korea, Ghana was expected at Afcon 2023. With Mohamed Kudus, Inaki Williams and the Ayew brothers, the Black Stars had a good team to go further than possible in this competition organized by Côte d’Ivoire.
But from their first group match, Chris Hughton’s men immediately disappointed everyone by losing to Cape Verde to everyone’s surprise. During their second outing, they narrowly recovered Mohamed Kudus and the West Ham striker immediately stood out with a double against Egypt. Unfortunately, the Ghanaian defense was trapped and conceded a draw against the Pharaohs.
Against Mozambique, Ghana also did not put in a brilliant performance to reach the round of 16 of Afcon 2023 and finished the group stage with only two points despite being announced among the favorites of the competition.
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