The only person who did not see Iñaki Williams coming was Diogo Costa.
The Portuguese goalkeeper, intent on time-wasting late on, had no idea that the Ghanaian forward was a few yards behind him, waiting for him to put down the ball to kick – and then to pounce.
When he did, Williams nicked the ball of him, and was surely going to bypass the keeper to score. Except, Williams did not. Except, Williams, somehow, slipped and could not pull the trigger.
Ghana’s 2-3 loss to the Europeans was confirmed with the fulltime whistle moments later. It was that sort of game.
“Since then, I’ve been seeing the whole incident in slow motion in my head,” says James Nana Arkoful, a Black Stars fan who was among the fans seated behind the Portugal goal at the Stadium 974 on Thursday.
“I think Williams was just unlucky, because he did everything right, but then fell at the vital moment. What I liked most about the move was that he dared to try something out of the box,” chimes in Walid Issifu, another fan who was there.
The two days that have gone after the game have offered a time of reflection ahead of the now must-win second game against South Korea, who drew against Uruguay on matchday one.
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WAS IT TOO MUCH RESPECT?
Ghana’s technical team did their homework, which informed the conservative starting lineup. Indeed, a careful reading of the game suggests Ghana did not show Portugal too much respect. Rather, the Black Stars were being careful.
Portugal scored 22 goals in qualifying, and 13 of those were from wide areas. With that in mind, Otto Addo went 3-5-2. And it worked. The defence of Mohammed Salisu, Daniel Amartey and Alexander Djiku had big performances, while Alidu Seidu (in particular) and Baba Rahman handled their wing-back roles well.
The debate is whether Ghana coach Otto Addo should do that again on Monday.
There was another merited reason behind the thinking regarding the defensive start. The Black Stars XI had just one player, Andre Ayew, with previous World Cup experience. Defensive midfielder Salis Samed, right-back Alidu Seidu and Williams were all making their competitive debuts for the team, goalkeeper Ati-Zigi was on his 12th cap, while Alexander Djiku and Mohammed Kudus were both on their 19th. In short, six of the players had less than 20 caps. The team reeked of inexperience and Otto clearly wanted to ease them in.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s lineup had an average cap of 53. Starting with goalkeeper Diogo Costa (8th cap), Joao Cancelo (38), Danilo Pereira (64), Ruben Dias (41), Raphael Guerrero (58), Otavio (9), Ruben Neves (32), Bruno Fernandes (50), Joao Felix (25), Cristiano Ronaldo (192), and Bernardo Silva (73).
Against Korea, where a win is an absolute necessity, it would be strange if Addo took the same approach when he has a team capable of doing damage while facing a team of similar experience.
Samed was fantastic against the Europeans, Seidu was confident and the much-maligned Ati-Zigi had a more than decent game in which he could not be blamed for any of the three goals conceded. It will be OK to rely on them, as the lack of inventiveness was not their doing.
THE PARTEY QUESTION AGAIN
Here we go again: is Thomas Partey better as a 6, 8, or 10 when playing for Ghana? On Thursday, he was ineffective for about 70 minutes primarily because he did not have runners to get into spaces to receive his well-known line-breaking passes. He attempted more passes (51) than any Ghanaian player, but how many of them were successful?
That said, Partey must understand that his profile requires him to carry the team in difficult moments. That is why he is one of its star players, to shine when everyone else is dim. More is expected from the Arsenal star.
KUDUS IS THE KEY
The first 10 minutes of the opener saw him misplace ball after ball as he found his feet. A second reason is that from the onset, Portugal targeted him and Partey, pressing them successfully for large spells in the game. Eventually, Kudus will unshackle himself.
But once he established a rhythm, it was glaringly obvious why the future of the Black Stars could be built around him. He completed four dribbles (more than any player), succeeded in six of eight ground duels, and attempted two shots on goal. He was Ghana’s highest-rated player by stats provider, Sofascore.
It is a no-brainer that whatever midfield is set should have him as the fulcrum. He was so influential that his 77th-minute substitution was heavily criticised by fans, who felt he could have powered the team to a late, late win.
THE ANDRE AYEW ENIGMA
One of the surest bets of goals in this Ghana team is also one of its biggest tactical headaches. Against Portugal, it was painfully obvious that the captain does not have the legs to last more than 45 minutes. However, it was also clear that once he got around the opposition third, he was always a threat with his bursts and keen eye for goal.
It will not be the brightest idea to start him against South Korea, when a high-energy, high-intensity game is required from the onset. Partey and Kudus need runners to feed, and the Black Stars have those on the bench in abundance.
WHAT TO DO WITH A STACKED BENCH?
With no injuries to report, the coaching team are quite spoiled for choice. The challenge is that pitch chemistry has not fully developed for Addo to know what’s likely to work. What is not in doubt is that the team has firepower. Kamaldeen Sulemana, Osman Bukari, Daniel Kofi Kyereh, Kamal Sowah and others can inflict different kinds of damage if deployed properly.
It bears repeating, a loss against the Asians will be the end of Ghana’s World Cup.
Whatever style Ghana choose to play, the team should not end the game in a way that leads to accusations of a lack of bravery. There is too much quality for that to happen.
THE REFEREES
VAR is at this World Cup to help referees get a second opinion on events that are not clear and obvious. American ref Ismail Elfath, however, saw no need to consult the tech when calling a penalty for Cristiano Ronaldo. At the very least, the incident required a second look. Not doing so tilted the balance of the game almost irreversibly in the direction of the Europeans. Although the action is not indicative of bias against Ghana or African teams (because Senegal benefited from two game-changing refereeing decisions in their win against Qatar on Friday), it is not a good look.
GHANAIAN FANS IN DOHA EXPECTANT
Fans flew in from Ghana in their numbers earlier this week and created a colourful vibe at the first game. Even after the defeat, they were the cynosure of all eyes with their drumming, dancing and singing outside the stadium.
They will return on Monday, looking forward to being in full voice for what could be another famous African win at the World Cup.