AFCON 2023: Ghana wobble to thrilling Egypt draw despite Kudus brilliant brace after Nigeria stun hosts Cote d’Ivoire

The Black Stars aimed to replicate the Super Eagles’ brilliant performance earlier on Thursday, but they were pegged back twice by the Pharaohs

Ghana are on the verge of exiting the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after the Black Stars were held to a 2-2 draw by Egypt at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Black Stars’ four-goal thriller against the Egyptians came shortly after Nigeria pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory over hosts Cote d’Ivoire to get the AFCON ambitions back on track. 

The Super Eagles drew their opening match 1-1 against Equatorial Guinea and would have faced elimination had they lost to the Ivorians on matchday two.

However, William Troost-Ekong scored a second-half penalty to crown a composed and controlled Nigerian display against the Elephants.

Having lost their first match 2-1 against Cape Verde, Ghana needed a win of their own against another former champions to turn their fortunes around.

And with the Black Stars’ eternal rivals, Nigeria, already claiming their first victory at AFCON 2023, Ghana required no other motivation when they took to the pitch against the Pharaohs.

After a quiet first 45 minutes, West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus struck an excellent effort from outside the penalty box to give Ghana the lead on the stroke of halftime.

A terrible back-pass midway through the second half, however, allowed Omar Marmoush to steal in and equalise for Egypt.

Kudus restored Ghana’s lead in the 71st minute, but the Pharaohs were back on levelled terms three minutes later – Mostafa Mohamed with the second equaliser.

With the draw, Ghana are rooted to the bottom of Group B with one point from two games and will bow out of the competition should they fail to beat Mozambique – who picked up an excellent draw with Egypt last time – on matchday three.

While Ghana, who have not won the AFCON in more than four decades, are about to make the trip back to Accra, Nigeria’s Super Eagles are soaring to new heights.

After beating hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria have climbed to the summit of Group A alongside Equatorial Guinea, with both teams boasting four points.

Nigeria will finish as Group A winners should they beat basement aide Guinea-Bissau on Monday, January 22, and Equatorial Guinea fail to defeat the Ivorians on the same day.