AFCON 2023: Kudus scores twice in Ghana draw with Egypt as Nigeria edge hosts Ivory Coast

Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations matches showcased thrilling action as Egypt and Ghana battled to a 2-2 draw. Despite losing Mohamed Salah to injury, Egypt displayed resilience by coming from behind twice to secure a valuable point.

Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus scored both goals for his team, but defensive errors allowed Egypt’s Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed to capitalize and dent Ghana’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stage.

With just one point, Ghana remains at the bottom of Group B alongside Mozambique, while Egypt sits in second place with two points behind group leaders Cape Verde.

The top two teams from each group will advance, making every match crucial for the teams’ tournament aspirations.

Egypt continued to apply pressure and eventually found the equalizer in the 69th minute through Marmoush, who took advantage of a failed backpass from Inaki Williams. Just two minutes later, Kudus responded with a shot that deflected off a defender and found its way into the far post.

However, another defensive error, this time from Osman Bukari, allowed Mohamed to equalize for Egypt three minutes later. In the match between Ivory Coast and Nigeria, William Troost-Ekong’s second-half penalty secured a crucial 1-0 victory for Nigeria.

The win revitalized Nigeria’s campaign after a draw in their opening game and puts them in a strong position to advance to the knockout stage. Despite the win, star player Victor Osimhen had another disappointing performance.

The penalty was awarded after a video replay consultation, with referee Mustapha Ghorbal determining that Ousmane Diomande had fouled Osimhen. Ivory Coast now sits in third place in Group A, behind Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

They will face Equatorial Guinea in their next match, while Nigeria will play against Guinea-Bissau. In the early kick-off, Equatorial Guinea secured a 4-2 victory over Guinea-Bissau, with Emilio Nsue scoring a hat-trick. Nsue’s hat-trick made him the oldest player to achieve this feat in the tournament’s history.