Ghana fails to qualify for AFCON 2025 after drawing against Angola

Jordan Ayew scored a sumptuous free-kick that even the legendary Brazillian forward Ronaldinho will envy in the 18th minute on Friday night.

At the Estadio de Novembro against Angola, Ghana faced a tougher opponent in the make-or-break tie. After taking the lead, Ghana struggled to keep up the pace and the aggression of Pedro Goncalves’s side was so great.

On M’bala Nzola’s return, the Lens striker missed a crucial penalty to equalise for the home side in the 27th minute. Angola needed to avoid defeat to keep their momentum to close the year fruitfully.

Angola, in terms of possession in the first half, was ahead of Ghana but failed to take advantage of the dominance.

In the second half, Angola continued their quest to score by putting more pressure on the Black Stars. They finally got their wish by scoring in the 64th minute. Milson, who scored the only goal for Angola in Kumasi against Ghana, assisted Zìni to level the scores for the Palancas Negras.

Black Stars, with all the stars, failed to shine in the second half after being attacked constantly by Angola. Probably, it was Ghana’s worst second-half performance since Otto Addo returned as the head coach.

Angola only in the second half had 9 goal attempts compared to Ghana’s 5. They outplayed Ghana by recording a whooping 80% possession to Ghana’s 20. 2 shots on goal with four off target were recorded by the home side. The Black Stars were so flat to the extent that they could not manage a single shot on target from the total two they had in the second period.

Ghanaians are struggling to come to terms with the performances of the senior national, as they have won just two games in the entire 2024.

Group F is closed for Ghana, with Sudan and Niģer the only sides to fight for the final slot.

The Black Stars host Angola on Tuesday in Accra, while Sudan welcomes the already Angola to Libya for the final games. Niger will book a place in Morocco if they beat Ghana.