Cape Verde strike late to beat Ghana at AFCON

In their opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, Cape Verde shocked four-time defending champions Ghana 2-1 thanks to a late goal from substitute Garry Rodrigues.

At the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Alexander Djiku headed home to cancel out a goal by Cape Verde's Jamiro Monteiro, and it appeared as though the Black Stars would escape with a draw.

After a protracted VAR review, Majeed Ashimeru was also denied a goal for Ghana; however, Cape Verde won three points in the Group B encounter when Rodrigues scored the game's final goal.

The island nation, who advanced to the AFCON knockout stage and finished first in the section, They did, however, lose in the group stage of the most recent edition two years ago, having won their last title in 1982.

Additionally, Chris Hughton's team arrived here fresh off a 1-0 loss to the Comoros in a November 2026 World Cup qualifier, raising questions about their likelihood of having a significant effect in Ivory Coast.
had a great victory; group rivals Egypt and Mozambique drew 2-2 earlier.

The fact that Mohammed Kudus, who is having a fantastic season at West Ham United in the English Premier League, was not even on the bench and was not included in the starting lineup hurt their chances of winning this game.

Jovane Cabral's shot was saved by Ghanaian custodian Richard Ofori in the 17th minute, giving Cape Verde the lead. Monteiro, who has played most of his career in Major League Soccer, then scored.

With strong support from the slightly under 12,000 spectators, Ghana believed they had tied the score in the 36th minute.
Shortly after Antoine Semenyo's cross was cleared by keeper Vozinha and bounced back onto the woodwork by Ghanaian forward Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer, Ashimeru of Anderlecht rifled a shot from outside the area low into the corner.

However, after a protracted VAR review, the referee declared that Koenigsdoerffer was obstructing the goalkeeper's line of sight as he returned from an offside position, hence the goal was disallowed.
After Djiku headed in Jordan Ayew's cross to tie the score at one goal after 56 minutes, Ghana substituted Ayew along with Ernest Nuamah and Inaki Williams in an attempt to find a winner.

However, their defence looked vulnerable, and the goal that sealed the victory for Cape Verde was a farce for the Ghanaians, as Rodrigues scored after Ofori mishandled a low ball into the box, setting off riotous celebrations.