Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations will draw to a close this week and Ghana will be looking to keep their qualification hopes alive when they face Mozambique at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on Monday night.
Ghana are staring down a second consecutive AFCON group-stage exit, currently in third place in the group and level on one point with their opponents in this match, who are at the bottom of the group standings.
Ghana
Ghana were sent crashing out of the tournament two years ago when they finished bottom of their group, and they will end at the foot of Group B this year if they lose this crunch match.
The Black Stars got their tournament underway in the worst way possible as they found themselves outplayed by group leaders Cape Verde.
Matchday two against Egypt brought out a better performance from Chris Hughton‘s side, who went into the match as the underdogs, but despite taking the lead twice, they were unable to hang on and had to settle for a share of the spoils.
That result marked Ghana’s sixth consecutive AFCON match without a win, which is their longest-ever winless run during their over six-decade history in this competition.
A win over Mozambique will give Black Stars four points, which will almost certainly be good enough to finish as one of the best third-placed teams.
Mozambique
Mozambique have had to wait 12 years to return to the AFCON, having failed to qualify for the last six editions, and the requirements for them to remain in the competition are exactly the same as their opponents in this match.
However, history is certainly not on the Mambas’ side since they have never won a group-stage match in an AFCON, losing 12 and drawing two of their 14 matches over five tournaments, including this one.
Prediction
Ghana would have got some much-needed confidence from their performance against Egypt last week and the return of Kudus has given them a genuine attacking threat at the top end of the pitch. Mozambique will certainly not back down here, but we are backing the Black Stars to get the victory they need in this one.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
