The Black Stars of Ghana have qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following their win over the Central African Republic (CAR).
Ghana needed a draw against CAR in their final Group E game which was staged at the Baba Yara Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Hughton named an unfamiliar side for the game with Jordan Ayew leading the team as the skipper for the side due to the absence of Thomas Partey and Daniel Amartey.
Andre Ayew who was named in the squad despite his clubless status was left on the bench.
The Wild Beasts dominated the early moments of the game and kept Ghana under pressure.
Their dominance however paid off in the 25th minute after Louis Mafouta scored from a beautiful counterattack.
The Black Stars kept their heads, and composure and dictated the game. Jordan Ayew and Inaki Williams came close to scoring but failed to find the back of the net.
In the 43rd minute, Inaki Williams was brought down on the edge of the box of the Central African Republic.
West Ham United’s new acquisition, Mohammed Kudus beautifully scored the free kick to end the first half 1-1.
After recess, both sides started well but Central African Republic started to dominate the game and threatened the Ghana goalpost.
In the 62nd minute, Chris Hughton brought Ernest Nuamah to replace Osman Bukari in an attempt to score again.
Despite playing at home, the Black Stars struggled to keep the ball and could not threaten the defense of the away side.
However, AFC Bournemouth striker, Antoine Semenyo was introduced in the 66th minute to replace Inaki Williams with Gideon Mensah also came on to replace Baba Rahman who picked up a slight knock.
Despite the sluggishness of the Black Stars, Nuamah was impressive with his runs and ball distribution.
CAR came close to scoring on the 81st after Flory Yangao’s impressive cross failed to locate any of his teammates in Ghana’s 18-yard box.
In the dying moment of the game, Ghana kept on to threaten the goalpost of their opponent. However, it yielded good results after Semenyo applied the pressure and hustled off the ball from his opponent and crossed the ball which located Nuamah in the 18-yard box with former FC Nordsjaelland forward scoring to make it 2-1 in the 88th minute.
During added time, Antoine Semenyo struck the post with a fine shoot.
The win means Ghana have finished their group with 12 points and will make an appearance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast next year. Ghana qualified with Angola who have finished 2nd with 9 points.
The Black Stars will discover its group opponents for the tournament on Thursday, 12 October 2023.
Ghana will hope to end its 41-year Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy drought in Abijan next year.