The Black Stars of Ghana and the Palancas Negras of Angola were tied goalless at half-time of their AFCON ’24 qualification series. The match which is still underway in Kumasi, Ghana will have the return game played in Angola in three days’ time. This means the Ghana contingent will emplane to the South African nation almost immediately after the Kumasi match.
Commentators on this first leg match have described the turnout by Ghana as a bit scrappy but praised the Angolans for their pace. However, Ghana had come close to scoring on a few occasions but failed to pull them off.
Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus, Kamaldeen Suleimana, and Inaki Williams started the game with captain Andre Dede Ayew on the bench. In posts for Ghana is Lawrence Ati Zigi who came under two tricky moments but kept a clean slate, thanks to the waywardness of the opposite side too. It is however a tight midfield game, against the pre-match prediction that visualized an explosive attacking game.
In the 80th minute, Thomas Partey put Antoine Semenyo through but the striker was unable to convert as the Angolan goalie closed the angle. Several second-half scenes suggest an Angolan strategy of just frustrating the Black Stars to pick up a point in Kumasi before the epic showdown in Luanda.
Their group includes the Central Africa Republic and Madagascar and the top two will qualify for Africa’s football mundial to be staged in the Ivory Coast next year.