The Black Stars of Ghana suffered a humiliating and near fatal blow to their chances of qualifying for the 2018 world cup after they suffered a 2-0 loss to the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Ghana was in grave danger of falling far behind the pack in qualifying after an uninspiring goalless draw in the first game against Uganda at home, and failed to provide any suitable response as they were humbled by the Pharaohs.
Two goals from Mohammed Salah just before half time and Abdalla El Said late in the game put a nail in Ghana’s coffin, making it near insurmountable to come back in the group and exacting some revenge for the 6-1 drubbing received by the Egyptians in 2014 world cup qualifying.
Playing in front of a capacity 80,000 crowd at the Borg-el-Arab stadium, the Stars made a bright start, displaying some neat interplay – but the lack of cutting edge upfront derailed numerous attacks as the Egyptians comfortably soaked Ghana’s pressure. A momentary concentration lapse from defender Harrsion Afful gifted the Egyptians a penalty which was buried with aplomb by Mohammed Salah.
Ghana came out strongly for the second half, creating more chances but again failing to convert, as the absence of skipper Asamoah Gyan was evident. The Stars went for broke in the final moments of the game, but were caught on the break by the Egyptians, with Said scoring in the 85th minute to kill off the game.
The win puts Egypt top of the group with 6 points, already 5 points ahead of the Stars with just two games played. Uganda are second with 4 points whilst Congo prop up the group with zero. Ghana take on Congo home and away in our next two games, but need a minor miracle to qualify, even with wins in all final four group games.