The third group stage match of Ghana’s Black Stars in AFCON 2023 ended with great sadness for goalkeeper Richard Ofori. Guilty of a dreadful handling error in injury time, the 30-year-old goalkeeper allowed the Mozambique team to equalize, sealing the elimination of the Ghanaians.
A heavy blow fell on Ghana this Monday. Facing Mozambique in the final match of Group B, Mohamed Kudus and his teammates narrowly missed qualification. After an initial defeat against Cape Verde (qualified for the Round of 16), the Black Stars managed a draw against Egypt in their second outing and were thus obligated to win the third group stage match of AFCON 2023 to secure a spot in the Round of 16. Ultimately, a disappointing 2-2 draw would mark the match.
The bitter match for Ghana
In this match played at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium, which had served as the venue for Guinea-Equatorial’s correction of Ivory Coast a few minutes earlier, Ghana had started well. Arriving with the determination to end a series of four consecutive winless matches (FCW), Mohamed Kudus and Jordan Ayew made an impact early on. In the 15th minute, André Ayew’s younger brother opened the scoring for his team with a penalty. Despite Mozambique’s attempts, the score remained unchanged until halftime.
Returning from the break, Ghana faced challenges but held firm until the 70th minute. On another penalty, Jordan Ayew doubled the lead for the Black Stars, seemingly securing their direct qualification for the next stage of AFCON 2023, specifically the Round of 16. However, just at the start of injury time, things took a different turn with a penalty awarded to Mozambique. Without hesitation, Geny Catamo adjusted Richard Ofori and reduced the deficit.
Ofori’s monumental mistake
As the seconds ticked away and the match referee prepared to end the game, the Ghanaian goalkeeper made a massive blunder, some would call it a lack of concentration.
Indeed, on a seemingly harmless ball that the Ghanaian defenders allowed to go out for a goal kick, Richard Ofori got confused and touched the ball. Likely torn between grabbing the ball or letting it go for a goal kick, the Orlando Pirates goalkeeper in South Africa provided an opportunity for Mozambique to equalize with a corner. Fatefully, the equalizing goal followed with a well-placed header from Reinildo Mandava, the Atletico Madrid full-back, in the 90+4th minute.
Mohamed Kudus’s disappointment
Speechless when receiving his man-of-the-match award, as he was against Egypt, West Ham player Mohamed Kudus did not hide his frustration in the press conference. Dejected by the outcome of the match, the former Ajax player lamented the lack of concentration in the final minutes. “I am very disappointed; we really wanted this victory but it was not meant to be. It’s a great disappointment for us,” said the Black Stars player in statements relayed by beninweb.
“We lost the match by losing our concentration in the final minutes, just like against Egypt. We showed a lot of qualities here, but losing our concentration at the end cost us dearly,” he continued. While Ghana’s downfall doesn’t allow them to believe in qualification for the Round of 16 of AFCON 2023, several other countries, like Ivory Coast, are pleased. With this frustrating draw, Ghana has qualified six teams without playing their third match and positioned the others vying for a third-best place, including the host country. How cruel for Ghana!
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