Not the ideal start but Ghana had to battle out of their skin to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Dr. Congo in their U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opener.
Making their first appearance since 2021, when they won the championship, Ghana fell behind to a Samuel Ntanda first half glancing header, but managed to fight back to clinch a vital point from an Aziz Musibau close-range finish.
Ghana moves to a point in Group C – same as their other three group rivals, Senegal, Central African Republic and Dr. Congo.
3Sports takes a look at five things learned from Ghana’s opening game against Dr. Congo.
Indiscipline a growing issue
Although it’s just the opening game, the general outlook of the game was not too pleasing for the eye.
Ghana were brandished with three yellow cards – the second most in a game for a single opponent- in a fiesty encounter.
The yellow cards mean Ghana’s players, Dacosta Antwi, Denis Marfo and Joseph Aidoo, will be walking on thin lines throughout the tournament.
The aforementioned players are now a booking away from an automatic suspension.
Ghana still not warm despite the draw
The Black Satellites were lucky not to drop all three points against Dr. Congo.
The lead-up to the tournament always raised major concerns as international players camped in March while local players camped in April.
The team didn’t look cohesive, which is understandable from inadequate preparations.
Aziz Musibau offers solution to potential Jerry Afriyie absence
Ghana will be without one of their main stars, Jerry Afriyie, after he was given the green light by his club side, CD Lugo, to feature in Ghana’s opening two games.
Afriyie came on in the second half of the game to help Ghana to the 1-1 draw.
Afriyie has long been Ghana’s main man at the U20 level, performing on the biggest stages – WAFU B U20 and African Games.
Musibau has offered himself up as a potential option, though, for Ghana.
He was amongst Ghana’s standout performers during the WAFU B, the qualifiers to the AFCON, where he bagged two goals
The striker is one of the names who can seamlessly feel Afriyie’s boots, as shown against Congo.
Ghana’s qualification hope still in the balance
It’s only a draw, not the end of the world but tournament football makes no room for such statements.
You’re either warmed up and on your ‘A’ game from the onset, or you’re out of it.
A place in the semi-finals of the AFCON automatically guarantees a place in the World Cup, which takes place in Chile in September.
Ghana, winners of the U20 World Cup in 2009, have not participated in the competition since 2015.
If Ghana aspires to play on the global stage at the U20 level, the performances have to be better.
Desmond Ofei faces selection conundrum
Picking the right team can sometimes be difficult, as Desmond found out in Ghana’s stalemate.
Immediately the teamsheets were released, Aziz Issah of Barcelona B and CD Lugo’s Jerry Afriyie were expected to be in from the off but coach Desmond Ofei had different ideas, offering other players a chance to impress.
It’s good headache for coaches when they have a variety of options to choose from, but it becomes burdensome when those options falter.
Desmond will look to reshuffle his cards and get Ghana’s best players in from the start im subsequent games.