Egypt vs Ghana 2-2: 2023 Africa Cup of Nations football – as it happened

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🇬🇭 Mohamed Kudus 🇬🇭

Ghana's starboy is your TotalEnergies Man of the Match with a great brace! 🌟 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | #EGYGHA | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/v4f21Wndt8

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024

Strange little game tonight. Blink and you would have missed all the action. Salah’s injury and the Kudus opener took place within minutes of each other. In the second half, three goals were scored in the space of five minutes.

Barring these seven minutes across both halves, the game was largely dire and lacking in quality. It wasn’t a slow burn. It was just one that flickered on a couple of occasions.

With all that being said, what a seven minutes they were!

Ghana are winless in their last six AFCON group games.

Cape Verde – yes, Cape Verde – are the only side to have won in Group B and are top of the table with three points.

Egypt are in second followed by Mozambique, while Ghana are rooted at the bottom.

It’s a cheap thing to say, but it feels like Egypt have been better without Salah?

— Maher Mezahi (@MezahiMaher) January 18, 2024

All over at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, with Egypt and Ghana sharing the points.

FT: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

Egypt work it well into the box and Ashour cuts in on his right and shoots, but his shot is tame and straight into Ofori’s hands. Ghana break down the other end and win a corner.

Baba finds himself in space but mistimes his jump and is unable to make contact. It’s the last action of the game.

90+6 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

Bukari, who only came on in the 73rd minute, is subbed off for Owusu.

Attia comes in place of Marmoush for Egypt.

Seven minutes of added time to come.

90 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

The left winger has been relentless in the second half and he goes close to giving Egypt the lead for the first time in the game with a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but it goes wide. Wasn’t too far, that one.

88 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

Ashour makes a darting run into the box but he’s muscled off the ball. Egypt want a penalty but the referee shrugs off their protests.

85 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

AFCON is the gift that keeps on giving

— Alasdair Howorth (@ahoworth97) January 18, 2024

Chris Houghton’s hands are on his hips. Ghana have gifted Egypt a way back into the game twice. Both mistakes seemed borne out of complacency. Williams’s back-pass was lazy and Bukari’s dithering on the ball was similarly sloppy.

Can Kudus do it for them again?

81 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

Mohamed equalises!

Ghana have again gifted Egypt a goal. Trezeguet steals the ball off an idling Bukari in the box and squares for Mohamed to poke in from close range.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ABIDJAN!

74 mins: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

Kudus puts Ghana back in front!

Ghana aren’t behind for long. Odoi’s smart pass from the right finds Kudus in the corner of the box. He shuffles the ball onto his left and curls a shot that takes a slight deflection and goes in.

What a game of football.

71 mins: Egypt 1-2 Ghana

Marmoush equalises for Egypt!

Inaki Williams receives the ball deep in his half and his back-pass is weak – Marmoush jumps onto it, rounds the keeper and calmly slots home.

69 mins: Egypt 1-1 Ghana

Trezeguet is on for Elneny.

69 mins: Egypt 0-1 Ghana

Kudus outmuscles Elneny and sets Semenyo free down the right, but the Bournemouth winger isn’t able to get any power behind his shot after cutting back on his left.

Ghana have set themselves up on the counter. If they are to get a second, it’s going to come from a quick break.

67 mins: Egypt 0-1 Ghana

Kudus was weaving circles around Egyptian defenders moments ago, but the ball is won back and worked quickly to Marmoush. The Frankfurt forward gallops into the box and cuts in to unleash a shot that flies over the goal.

65 mins: Egypt 0-1 Ghana

KUDUS IS THE GREATEST ATTACKING PLAYER GHANA HAS MADE IN A GENERATION.

— Carl Anka 🇬🇭 (@Ankaman616) January 18, 2024