Ghana will be looking to avoid elimination when they face Mozambique on Monday. Ghana is now in third place in the group and tied with their opponents in this match. They are at the bottom of the group rankings and looking at their second straight AFCON group-stage departure.
Preview (Mozambique vs. Ghana)
After missing out on the last six AFCON editions, Mozambique had to wait 12 years to make it back to the tournament. Their opponents in this encounter must meet the same standards to stay in the competition. The Mambas have never won an AFCON group stage match, losing 12 of their 14 games. So history is undoubtedly not on their side. Furthermore, Mozambique has never maintained a perfect record in the top continental competition. They have given up 31 goals so far and permitted two or more goals in 13 of their 14 games.
The Mambas and Zimbabwe would tie as the teams with the longest streak of 15 games without a clean sheet in this competition if they are unable to maintain a clean sheet on Monday. In their opening game against Egypt, Chiquinho Conde’s team came agonizingly close to winning their first AFCON, coming back from behind to take a 2-1 lead. However, they were devastated when a penalty was awarded against them in stoppage time. Mohamed Salah saved to spare The Pharaoh’s blushes.
Chris Hughton’s team performed better in their match against Egypt on matchday two. They started as the underdogs and lost after taking the lead twice. Instead, they had to settle for a sharing of the spoils. With that outcome, Ghana’s winless streak in AFCON matches has now reached six straight. It is the longest in the competition’s more than six-decade history. If Egypt defeats Cape Verde in the other game, a win over Mozambique here will still not guarantee The Black Stars a spot in the tournament, but four points will most likely be sufficient to place among the top three teams.
Team News
Lau King and Dominico were substituted in during the half of Mozambique’s match against Cape Verde, and they will compete to start for Mozambique against Ghana. Reinaldo of Atletico Madrid was used in a back three during Conde’s team’s last game; it would be fascinating to see if they stick with that lineup on Monday. Due to injury, Mohammed Kudus was unable to play for Ghana against Cape Verde in their opening game. However, the West Ham United midfielder made a spectacular entrance against Egypt. He scored again in the second half of the game. With no injuries to worry about for now, the Black Stars may look to veteran Andre Ayew to add more attacking power after the attacker from Le Havre was left off the field for the previous game.
Mozambique 1-2 Ghana
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