Ghanaian international Emmanuel, Agyemang-Badu, has expressed joy at his last-gap equalizer in Udinese’s 2-2 draw away at Hellas Verona on Saturday afternoon.

The Ghanaian, who was a major doubt before the match due to an injury picked up earlier in training, came from the bench to score a 90th minute equalizer with his side on the verge of a 2-1 loss. Badu came on in the 87th minute for Marques Loureiro Allan and it would take just three minutes to find the valuable equalizer, his fifth of the season.

The 23-year-old spoke to his club’s official website, Udinese.it after the game in which he also explained the reason for his late show.

“The coach put me on the pitch later because I had a pain in my calf. He told me to get ready to join the race. I'm happy for the goal. It is dedicated to Danilo for his birthday,” he told his club’s website.

“I have not scored for three years. This year, I'm fine physically and I want to continue to improve. Now, we are thinking about Sampdoria where we must take at least a point,” he added.

With Udinese set to battle Samdoria in her last encounter of the Serie A next weekend, the former Kotoko man has already started dreaming about the 2014 World Cup where he hopes to help the Black Stars progress from a tough group involving Ghana, Germany, Portugal and the USA.

“Scoring is important for me and for the team. I hope to train and grow. Now, I’m thinking of Sampdoria, then head to the World Cup where we hope to do well in a very difficult group,” he concluded.

Badu is expected to be listed in Kwesi Appiah’s 30-man provisional Ghana World Cup squad which is set to be unveiled on Monday afternoon.