{"id":251169,"date":"2024-11-15T04:55:04","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T04:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/"},"modified":"2024-11-15T04:55:04","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T04:55:04","slug":"ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#8216;Christmas Gift&#8217; from Niger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"article-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanaweb.com\/imagelib\/pics\/966\/96644948.295.jpg\" alt=\"Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive\" title=\"Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive\" width=\"295\" height=\"236\" \/> <span class=\"image_caption\"><span>Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"-webkit-user-select: none; -webkit-touch-callout: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none;\">\n<p id=\"article-123\">The Black Stars of Ghana find themselves under immense pressure to secure a victory against Angola on Friday as they fight to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive.<\/p>\n<p>This comes on the heels of an unexpected 4-0 victory by Niger over Sudan, a result many are calling an early &#8220;Christmas gift&#8221; for Ghana.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Niger pulled off a stunning upset, thrashing Sudan 4-0 in what was seen as a decisive match for Group F.<\/p>\n<p>Sudan only needed a draw to confirm their place in the 2025 AFCON, which would have effectively ended Ghana&#8217;s qualification hopes.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Sudanese team that had previously outclassed Ghana in a 2-0 defeat last month failed to show up, delivering a lacklustre performance.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Niger put on a spectacular display, clinching their first win of the qualifiers in dramatic fashion. Daniel Sosah led the charge with two goals, while Youssef Oumarou and Ousseini Badamassi each contributed a goal, sealing an emphatic 4-0 victory.<\/p>\n<p>This commanding performance not only earned Niger their first points but also saw them leapfrog Ghana in the Group F standings.<\/p>\n<p><b> Ghana&#8217;s Path to Qualification: No Room for Error<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Despite receiving this unexpected boost from Niger&#8217;s win, the road to qualification remains tough for the Black Stars. Ghana must capitalize on this opportunity by winning their next two matches\u2014starting with a must-win game against Angola on Friday. A victory would narrow the gap to just two points behind Sudan, keeping the Black Stars in contention as the final fixtures approach.<\/p>\n<p>The stakes could not be higher for coach Kwesi Appiah and his team. The unexpected result from Niger has given Ghana a second chance, but they cannot afford any more slip-ups.<\/p>\n<p><b>High Stakes for the Black Stars Against Angola<\/b><\/p>\n<p>With Ghana&#8217;s AFCON qualification hopes hanging by a thread, the pressure is mounting on the Black Stars to deliver. The team&#8217;s inconsistent form in recent matches has raised concerns, but fans are hopeful that the early &#8220;gift&#8221; from Niger&#8217;s victory will serve as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n<p>The clash against Angola is now a do-or-die affair. Ghana needs a strong, decisive performance to keep their qualification chances alive and restore the confidence of their supporters. A win would not only boost their standing in the group but also build momentum ahead of their final showdown against Niger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive The Black Stars of Ghana find themselves under immense pressure to secure a victory against Angola on Friday as they fight to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive. This comes on the heels of an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":229756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#039;Christmas Gift&#039; from Niger - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#039;Christmas Gift&#039; from Niger - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive The Black Stars of Ghana find themselves under immense pressure to secure a victory against Angola on Friday as they fight to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive. This comes on the heels of an [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"headline\":\"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#8216;Christmas Gift&#8217; from Niger\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":421,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/96644948.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early 'Christmas Gift' from Niger - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/96644948.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/96644948.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/96644948.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/15\\\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#8216;Christmas Gift&#8217; from Niger\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/author\\\/ghanamma\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early 'Christmas Gift' from Niger - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early 'Christmas Gift' from Niger - Ghanamma.com","og_description":"Ghana is fighting to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive The Black Stars of Ghana find themselves under immense pressure to secure a victory against Angola on Friday as they fight to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes alive. This comes on the heels of an [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/","og_site_name":"Ghanamma.com","article_published_time":"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ghana News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"headline":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#8216;Christmas Gift&#8217; from Niger","datePublished":"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/"},"wordCount":421,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/","name":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early 'Christmas Gift' from Niger - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-15T04:55:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/96644948.jpg","width":600,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/15\/ghana-under-pressure-to-beat-angola-after-early-christmas-gift-from-niger\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ghana under pressure to beat Angola after early &#8216;Christmas Gift&#8217; from Niger"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/author\/ghanamma\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}