Egypt 2 - 2 Ghana - An Analysis

Here is my analysis of the Black Stars’ match against Egypt in Ivory Coast on Thursday 18 January 2024:

Match Summary
The match was a thrilling and dramatic encounter that saw both teams score twice in the last 20 minutes of the game. Ghana took the lead twice through Mohammed Kudus, who scored a brace with two superb finishes in the second half. Kudus was the star of the match and was awarded the man of the match trophy.

Egypt fought back to equalize on both occasions, with goals from Mostafa Mohamed and Omar Marmoush. Egypt, record seven-time Afcon winners, leveled in the 69th minute when Marmoush pounced on an errant back pass from Inaki Williams, rounded Ofori and slotted in from a narrow angle. For the second equalizer, Trezeguet robbed Osman Bukari and set up Mohamed for a clever finish through Ofori's legs. This produced an outcome that left both sides with work to do in their final group games.

Egypt suffered a major blow when their star player and captain Mohamed Salah was forced off with a hamstring injury in the first half.

The result leaves both teams with two points from two games in Group B, behind leaders Cape Verde who have six points. Both teams will need to win their final matches against Mozambique and Cape Verde respectively to secure their qualification to the knockout stage. I will leave the full permutations to the football mathematicians.

So, what did we do right?

• We didn’t do much right except for the inclusion of Mohammed Kudus. He is those once-in-a-lifetime gifts who can make a poor team look much much better.
• There was more structure to our play, but only just. Out of possession you could often identify our midfield line and our defensive line, but this was not consistent throughout the match. There were periods when apart from the back four, everyone else was just anywhere.
• Our set pieces were also much better. In my last article, I made mention of how a free kick from distance must be taken. But it was the Egyptians who provided a perfect example of what I was talking about, six minutes after the break. Luckily for us and unfortunately for them, it was ruled offside.

What did we do wrong?

• In my last article, I complained that we make too many back passes. Clearly no heed was paid to this, and we saw Inaki Williams, under very little pressure, give a huge back pass which led to the first equalizer.
• As I stated last week, our players take too many touches when they have the ball. I counted some taking up to ten touches! At this level, this should not happen. Taking so many touches allows the opposition time to get bodies ahead of the ball, organize their defense and thwart our moves. Taking too many touches is a trigger (an invitation) to be pressed. We saw this clearly with the second Egyptian goal, when Osman Bukari’s dilly dallying led to him being pressed and dispossessed of the ball leading directly to the equalizer.
• We keep passing the ball in front of the opponent’s defense, so this makes us easy to defend and play against, whilst making it difficult for us to score.
• Our goalkeeper and defenders seemed unable to kick the ball far enough into the opponent’s third, from a goal kick. This has denied us the option of attacking with long balls from goal kicks. There is nothing wrong with long balls and a goal is a goal – whether it came from a basic long ball over the defenders, or a 40-pass move.
• When a set piece against us is successfully defended or stopped, our goalkeeper does not quickly launch a counterattack. That’s the only time the opponent’s defense is thinned out when their defenders joined the attack or came forward for a corner or freekick. If we don’t counterattack at a blistering pace then, how on earth are we going to score?

• I still cannot understand how our midfield is organized. So, we are using a double pivot, but while the commentator commended their performance, I could not see them when they were needed. I need to watch the match a couple more times for clarification on this. I would prefer someone permanently sitting in front of the back four for protection.

Were our substitutions correct?
When Osman Bukari came on, I was very excited. I have seen him play for Red Star Belgrade in the European Champions League, so I expected much from him. I immediately posted on a WhatsApp group that we should expect another goal from this great but unknown player. But oh, what a calamity! Everything he did, turned out to be disastrous. The coaches deserve some praise for being bold enough to substitute the substitute.

What should we do to change the situation?

• Both Chris Hughton and George Boateng have extensive experience in British football. Some of the most basic tenets of British football are to take the minimum of touches and try to play the ball forward as much as possible. (Full disclosure: I’m based in the UK) We have had the problem of taking too many touches at all levels of our football since as long as I can remember, even in Senegal 92. The only time this was not a problem was when Avram Grant was the manager. When I heard Chris Hughton and George Boateng were taking over I was expecting to see a great improvement in this area, but sadly this has not happened. We must make it a policy at all levels of our football to drastically reduce the number of touches every player takes.
• When Avram Grant was in charge, we were also very dangerous from counter attacks. When we win possession, we must think of getting the ball behind the line of the opponent’s defense as quickly as possible, not fiddle with the ball. This can only happen if we rehearse a lot in training so that everyone knows where the ball is going and does not hesitate.
• Our defenders should put in their tackles earlier - certainly before the attacking opponent gets into the penalty box. Falling back just invites the attacker to shoot.
• We must improve our shooting from distance through practice. At a tournament like this, opportunities to score are few and far between and must be taken well. We must learn from our first match conquerors, Cape Verde. Did you see their shooting against Mozambique?
• We must clear our lines quickly. This is football 101. Whoever said football must be played by building up from the back with short passes must be drowned - preferably slowly. Why take six steps when one big one will do the trick. Throughout the whole football season around the world, football fans have seen teams concede goals from intercepted passes among defenders and to goalkeepers. It’s just outrageous. We must clear the ball from our defense area quickly. Go for distance and go for width.
• The Ghana Football Association (GFA) must write up a report after each tournament with the same analysis questions as above so that subsequent executives and the technical management can learn from the mistakes of the past and stop repeating them. If the GFA does not (and they probably don’t) then a sports journalist must take this up and publish it. You know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

For the record
Egypt lineup (4-3-3, right to left): El Shenawy (GK) — Kamal, Hegazi, Abdelmonem, Hamdy — Elneny, Fathi, Ashour — Salah, Mohamed, Marmoush.

Egypt subs (12): Gabal, Sobhi, Gabr, Hany, Trezeguet, Kouka, Kahraba, Fattouh, Attia, Hamada, Fathy, Zizo.

Ghana lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Ofori (GK) — Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah — Kudus, Samed, Ashimeru — J. Ayew, Williams, Semenyo.

Ghana subs (12): Seidu, Opoku, Ayew, Bukari, Wollacott, Paintsil, Owusu, Ati-Zigi, Amartey, Nuamah, Baba, Sowah.