Late Equaliser Breaks Ghana’s Heart and Denies AFCON Knockout Stage Qualification

Reinildo Mandava’s last-minute equalizer broke Ghana‘s hearts and denied them qualification for the knockout stages of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, despite leading 2-0 after 90 minutes.

Ghana comfortably held the lead with two penalty goals from Jordan Ayew. However, Ghana’s defense faltered in the final minutes of the game. They conceded a penalty with just four minutes remaining when the referee judged that Andre Ayew had handled the ball inside the box. Geny Catamo converted the spot-kick in added time.

Then, in a dramatic twist, Reinildo Mandava rose high inside the box to head home the equalizer, making it 2-2 and dashing Ghana’s hopes of progressing into the last 16.

With this draw, Ghana finished the group stage with just two points after three matches, one point behind Egypt, who finished second with three points after their 2-2 draw with Cape Verde. Cape Verde topped the group with seven points, while Mozambique finished bottom with two points.