{"id":77251,"date":"2023-06-19T14:14:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T14:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/06\/19\/black-stars-qualification-delayed-after-being-held\/"},"modified":"2023-06-19T14:14:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T14:14:38","slug":"black-stars-qualification-delayed-after-being-held","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/06\/19\/black-stars-qualification-delayed-after-being-held\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Stars qualification delayed after being held"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Black Stars <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Black Stars\u2019 qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of\u00a0 Nations (AFCON) has been delayed after being held by Madagascar Sunday, June 18.<\/p>\n

Ghana were hoping to secure its qualification against the Islanders but failed to bury their chances despite controlling the tempo of the game.<\/p>\n

The Black Stars saw the majority of the ball in the opening stages of the game but failed to advance in the opposition\u2019s box.<\/p>\n

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Ghana\u2019s first shot at goal came in the 18th minute falling to Kamaldeen Sulemana but his effort to curl the ball into the far post went just wide.<\/p>\n

KRC Genk winger, Joseph Paintsil also came close of breaking the deadlock but his strike was far from getting into the net.<\/p>\n

Despite being presented with so many set pieces in the opening half of the game, Ghana did very little to make the advantages count.<\/p>\n

The first half ended with no goals recorded while neither of the teams was able to hit a shot on target.<\/p>\n

Thomas Partey came close after the recess with his 55th-minute well-taken free-kick being parried away by the Madagascar goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

Minutes after coming on, Mohammed Kudus looked to be going for the spectacular but just like the previous efforts, his strike also went over the bar.<\/p>\n

It took the 86th minute to register the first shot on target with Madagascar recording both in the space of a minute.<\/p>\n

Ibrahim Amada\u2019s effort was saved by Lawrence Ati-Zigi before the resulting effort from the corner kick went into the hands of the St. Gallen shot-stopper.<\/p>\n

Ghana\u2019s shots on target came from Osman Bukari and Partey but were far from threatening the host with the game ending with no goal.<\/p>\n

The result means Ghana maintains the one-point lead at the top of Group E following Angola\u2019s 2-1 win over Central African Republic (CAR) on Saturday, June 17.<\/p>\n

The Black Stars will face CAR in their last game of the qualifying series in September looking to book a slot at the AFCON to be staged in Ivory Coast next year.<\/p>\n

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