Football experts say Ghana’s Black Stars revived their chances of advancing to the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the win over South Korea.
22-year-old Dutch based midfielder Mohammed Kudus was the standout star of the game after he netted twice for the Black Stars.
Kudus says he applauds his team for performing well against the South Koreans.
“We showed the same mentality as we did against Portugal,” said Kudus, adding, “the guys were awesome today and we won the three points.”
Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu was responsible for breaking the score deadlock in the 24th minute after English Premier League-based forward Jordan Ayew crossed the ball into the box and was received by the 23-year-old defender after the South Koreans failed to clear their lines.
Jordan Ayew proved his dominance again in the 34th minute after he crossed the ball into the box yet again, but this time was met by his 22-year-old teammate Kudus who headed the ball into the net past Kim Seung-gyu, South Korea’s goalkeeper.
The South Koreans pulled one back in the 58th minute after their 24-year-old forward Cho Gue-sung attacked a cross from his teammate and headed the ball into the net and past goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi.
Ati-Zigi failed again in the 61st minute after he was tested again by Cho who jumped above Ghana’s France Ligue 1-based left back Gideon Mensah and headed the ball into the net, making the score 2-2.
Mensah made up for the earlier mishap seven minutes later after he crossed the ball into the box which was met by his teammate Iñaki Williams but was deflected by the South Koreans, a development that left the ball in Kudu’s path who made no mistake and buried the ball into the far corner, securing his second goal and making the score 3-2.
Despite their loss, the South Koreans showed dominance in their nail-biting encounter against the West Africans having secured a majority 52 percent ball possession and six shots on target, including the final attempt by Cho to equalize in extra time, which was saved by the Black Stars goalkeeper.
Ghana’s head coach Otto Addo congratulated his team for the victory but said in the end they were lucky.
“Big congratulations to the team for coming back and scoring a third and passionately defending against South Korea who put on a lot of pressure,” Addo said.
“In the end we were a bit lucky," Addo added.
Current standings show the Black Stars are now second in Group H which may change depending on the outcome of the match between Portugal and Uruguay.
Football experts say they are impressed by the Black Stars performance and are looking forward to the last group match against Uruguay, a repeat fixture of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that witnessed the West African nation crashing out of the global tournament.
Experts add, a victory against Uruguay would secure a spot in the round of 16 for the West African side.
