Sports News of Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Source: goal.com
Bodies everywhere. Last-ditch blocks. Theatrical saves. A bombardment of crosses. A goal-line clearance. And 10 minutes of added time followed by an incandescent manager at the end.
All that came after one team raced into a two-goal lead despite a slow start and lost that advantage before recovering to score the winner. Absolute bedlam.
Ghana may have been on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller at the ongoing World Cup last Thursday against Portugal, but they were the victors this time, beating South Korea 3-2 at the Education City Stadium.
Their opening two fixtures produced 10 goals, more than any side in the competition. This is especially impressive and exciting when you consider Spain’s head-start that saw the Red Fury hit Costa Rica for seven in one game.
Luis Enrique’s men played out a 1-1 draw with Germany on Sunday, meaning games involving the 2010 champions have produced nine goals, one short of Ghana.
While La Furia Roja recorded a record-smashing 7-0 result in their opening fixture, the five goals in the Black Stars’ defeat at the hands of Portugal produced more excitement as it ended 3-2 in the Selecao’s favour.
More goals for Spain against Costa Rica, but Ghana vs Portugal was rip-roaring. Those five goals came after half-time, too, further highlighting how Otto Addo’s men have thrived in wild circumstances in Qatar.
They played within themselves in the opening half against the 2016 European champions, failing to muster passing sequences of note or touch the ball in the opponent’s box. This changed after the break when the shackles were off, and they managed to get the talented Mohammed Kudus on the ball.
The Ajax man will be crucial to how far the West African nation progress at the finals and a brace on Monday cemented his status as their go-to attacker — a decisive performance that followed last week’s second-half showing in that Portugal loss.
Mohammed Kudus completed all four attempted dribbles against Portugal and was arguably Ghana’s entire attacking threat for better or worse.
— Seye Omidiora (@theReal_SeyE) November 25, 2022
The star could uplift a limited Black Stars team in Qatar. #FIFAWorldCup @GOALAfrica https://t.co/CuRbfyqffW