Ghana targeting Uruguay scalp for last-16 ticket

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Dec 01, 2022. 15:00

Ghana will be looking to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup for the third time when they face Uruguay at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah on Friday.

Kick-off is at 5pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

The Black Stars became only the third African team to reach the quarter-finals at the 2010 edition before being eliminated by La Celeste on penalties.

Otto Addo’s side recorded their first win of the tournament when they beat South Korea 3-2 on Monday to go second in Group H, three points behind Portugal.

The West Africans had been desperate to get their campaign up and running after being beaten 3-2 by the Selecao on matchday 1 and they gave the perfect response against the Taegeuk Warriors.

Mohammed Kudus secured the win on 68 minutes, having earlier added to their lead after Mohammed Salisu had opened the scoring in the 24th minute, only for Cho Gue Sung (58′, 61′) to restore parity with a second-half brace.

A draw could be enough against the Uruguayans, who bring up the rear in the group on one point, but the South Koreans could spoil the party by springing an upset against the Portuguese.

Addo is pleased with how his new-look squad has come together to show they can mix it up with the best teams on the world’s biggest stage.

“It is good to see us competing with big teams like Portugal and to see how strong we were to come back after conceding two goals against South Korea, to score again and then how we defended was extraordinary,” he told Ghana’s Youtube channel.

“The World Cup is a very tight tournament, I don’t see small teams any more and it is good to see that Ghana can compete with everybody. South Korea was a tough match.

“Anything is possible when we execute the plan. We have a lot of new players, but they have integrated well and are combining together. But we have not achieved anything yet.”

The equation is simple for La Celeste as anything less than a win will see them go home early but even then they have to rely on Portugal coming out on top against South Korea.

The South Americans have struggled in their opening two matches and are still searching for their first goal at the global showpiece following a 0-0 draw with the Taegeuk Warriors and a 2-0 loss to the Selecao.

Veteran striker Edinson Cavani appeared to point the finger at head coach Diego Alonso for their poor performances in Qatar and stressed the need for his team-mates to show a marked improvement against Ghana to keep their World Cup dream alive.

“You will have to ask Alonso about why we lost. He will be able to explain what happened tactically. There are many things that happen on the pitch that lead you to not being able to win the game,” Cavani said.

“Sometimes football matches work out and sometimes they don’t. Losing leaves a bitter taste because we have the potential to give more. We know that there are things to improve and correct and prepare for the next game as it should be prepared.

“We need to find what we came here looking for out of this first round of matches. We will correct what we have done wrong and we will try to do things better to win the last game.”