Mohammed Kudus struck a brace as Ghana picked up their first point of the 2023 CAF Cup of Nations tournament from a 2-2 draw with Egypt in Group B on Thursday.
With six Premier League goals to his name in 2023/24 already, the in-form West Ham winger was amongst the goals yet again for head coach Chris Hughton’s men at Stade Félix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast.
Kudus produced an inch-perfect finish to put his side ahead in first-half stoppage time, before adding his second after the break, following an equaliser from Omar Marmoush for the 2021 AFCON finalists.
While Kudus’ second of the night was aided by a slight deflection, the 23-year-old forward’s first goal, one that nestled in the left corner from around 20 yards out, was a reminder of the quality all in Claret and Blue have become accustomed to this season.
In Ghana’s second fixture of the 2024 edition of AFCON, Kudus recorded his ninth goal and tenth goal in 26 senior international appearances and has now scored ten goals in all competitions for Club and country this season.
His efforts would not bring all three points, however, as his second goal was cancelled out by equaliser on 74 minutes from Egypt’s Mostafa Mohamed.
And so, despite a bit of Starboy magic, Ghana would have to settle for a point, leaving their hopes of reaching the knockouts in the balance following a defeat to Cape Verde in their tournament opener.
As it stands, Ghana are bottom of Group B, although a win in their final group game, against Mozambique on Monday 22 January, is likely to see them into the knockouts.
What a strike from Starboy 🤩🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/rD2JIgKfT3
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 18, 2024
