Five lessons from Ghana’s game against South Africa

Ghana have booked a place in the AFCON tournament despite a laboured performance against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Mohammed Kudus scored the opener early in the second half and Percy Tau got the equalizer for the hosts a few minutes after.

Here are the five things we learned

Wakaso and Acquah should never play together

The pair have been known to be defensive minded with little ability to progress the ball to attacking positions. This assertion was really evident in the game as they both struggled to string passes together and find attackers from deep. Akonnor would have to change this.

Mohammed Kudus deserves to play every Black Stars game

The Ajax midfielder was brilliant in this tie, unlike most of his teammates. He tried to make things happen from the middle of the park and managed to score the opener. When the likes of Partey and Andre Ayew return, Akonnor should find a place for him.

A permanent center back pairing is needed

Ganiyu struggled a bit and it was no surprise due to the fact that he is new in the side. But the surprising one was Nicholas Opoku who played worse. It is clear that the likes of Joseph Aidoo and Alexander Djiku should return soon to take the slot.

Baba Rahman needs to be on the bench

In this game, Rahman’s flaws were evident. He was poor defensively and offensively as well. The former Chelsea man needs to sit on the bench for another to take his place. It is quite unfortunate that Gideon Mensah was not present for this one.

Kwame Opoku should never be used on the wing

Former Kotoko striker Kwame Opoku was surprisingly deployed on the left wing for this match. He, unsurprisingly, was anonymous until he was replaced. Opoku thrives as the spearhead of attack who can hold up play and bring others in to score. In the future, that experiment should not be done again by Akonnor.