Kudus misses penalty as Ghana suffer humiliating defeat at home to Niger
The Black Stars of Ghana finished their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign on an embarrassing note as they were beaten by Niger at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday.
Mohammed Kudus, who captained the side on the day, had a glorious opportunity to salvage a point for Ghana in second half additional time but missed from 12 yards as the Nigeriens recorded a 2-1 win.
The Black Stars finished bottom of Group F with just three points, while Niger, despite their win, placed third. Angola and Sudan grabbed the qualification spots as they both finished on 14 points and eight points, respectively.
With the absence of numerous key players, coach Otto Addo made some changes, handing starting roles to Ebenezer Afful, Ransford Yeboah, and Francis Abu.
Niger started the game on a bright note and should have taken the lead in the ninth minute, but Moussa’s looped effort was saved by Ghana goalkeeper Abdul Manaf Nurudeen.
Ousseini Badamassai deservedly broke the deadlock for the away side with a ferocious header in the 21st minute.
The Black Stars players looked deflated after the goal, and Daniel Sosah could have made matters worse for Ghana, but he couldn’t score the cushion goal for Niger.
The Black Stars really struggled in the game, especially in the final third, where they failed to test Niger goalkeeper Tanja. The Le Mans of Niger were able to maintain their lead at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Black Stars of Ghana looked more poised to get the equaliser with the Nigeriens on the back foot.
Ransford Yeboah, who was Ghana’s marksman, was left stranded and struggled to have any openings in the Niger defence.
Substitute Jerry Afriyie scored the equaliser for Ghana in the 67th minute when he curled in from close range after a nice cross from Ernest Nuamah.
Ghana coach Otto Addo was elated with the strike so much he rushed onto the field to hug Afriyie.
The late quarter of the game was very intense, and Niger nearly took the lead, but once again Ghana goalkeeper Manaf delivered a wonderful save.
Niger took the lead once again with a few minutes to end the game through Oumar Sako headed in from close range.
Kudus had a glorious opportunity to restore parity for Ghana with virtually the last kick of the game, but Niger Tanga pulled a remarkable save to deny the West Ham attacker.
Source: GNA