2024-12-23

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World Cup 2022: Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana emerges as the fastest player at the tournament

Kamaldeen Sulemana is the fastest player at the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite Ghana’s early exit. 

The 20-year-old Stade Rennais winger sits top of the list of speedsters at the tournament with an acceleration of 35.7 kilometers per hour. He recorded the feat during Ghana’s game against Uruguay in the final Group H match at Al Janoub.

Closely following the Black Stars forward is Spanish-born Ghanaian, Nico Williams, who has a speed of 35.6 km/h from the game between Spain and Germany.

And in third place is Ghanaian-born Canadian, Alphonso Davies who chalked a run of 35.6 kilometers per hour in the game against Croatia.

Sulemana was a second half substitute in the game against Uruguay. He played in all three matches but made cameos against Portugal and South Korea.

Meanwhile, Williams and Davies saw more game time for their countries respectively.

All three players have exited the World Cup with Spain suffering a shock elimination at the round of 16 stage.

Williams is the younger brother of Ghana striker Inaki Williams.

World Cup 2022: Former Ghana defender Sammy Kufuor warns against abuse of Black Stars players after exit

Former Ghana defender Sammy Kuffuor has urged the media to desist from abusing Black Stars players following the team’s exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Social media have gone overdrive since the four-time African champions failed to progress from the group stage.

Accusation and counter-accusation has dominated the major headlines in the West African nation since the team exited the tournament.

But Bayern Munich legend and a member of the Black Stars management committee Sammy Kuffuor has urged the media to be measured by their criticism of the team.

‘’We all agree that this is not what we expected. But we believe in our team so I will plead with you not to point accusing fingers at any player for what happened here yesterday’’ the former Bayern star said in a press briefing in Doha on Saturday.

‘’I still insist we should find solutions to our problem and not to point accusing fingers at any player. We all know that we wanted to go far but that did not happen. Look at what we saw in the stadium and the people who travelled here to watch the matches’’.

‘’It shows the kind of love that people have for the team, we did not take it for granted at all. But its’ unfortunate we lost and exited the tournament. I am someone who can take pressure but it’s not every player who has that heart to take the pressure’’.

‘’These are young players, they need our support, not unguarded criticisms. When I was playing in Germany there was a lot of pressure but I am strong so I took that in good faith and performed’’.

‘’We don’t have to dampen the spirit of the players. We have to encourage the players to do better for our country in future competitions. We need to look at avenues to get better results from here and not to blame anyone, that’s my humble appeal to all of you.”

Ghana lost 2-0 to eternal rivals Uruguay 2-0 to crash out of the tournament in Doha.

World Cup 2022: Otto Addo insists Black Stars needed more time to be better

Immediate past coach of the Black Stars Otto Addo believes the team would have done better if they had more time together. 

Addo, who was named coach of the team in April, spent time with the Blacks only in the June and September break before the World Cup in November.

Ghana failed to shine in Qatar, winning just a game as the Black Stars suffered first round elimination.

“The windows we had were June, September and World Cup so there was not much time,” he told the media at a briefing on Saturday,” he said.

“Surely this is normal. If we will have had more time together, we could have developed even better. I saw a lot of processes and I know it is difficult for a lot of people to understand.”

The Borussia Dortmund talent coach resigned after the Black Stars’ defeat to Uruguay last Friday.

The four-time African champions will now switch their attention to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next year

DECISION NOT ONLY IN MY HANDS – OTTO ADDO ON GHANA DEPARTURE

Otto Addo has revealed the reason behind his decision to leave his position as Coach of the Black Stars, saying the decision is not only in his hands.

Otto Addo who took over the leadership of the team in March this year, will leave the job at the end of December when his six-month contract ends.

“The decision is not only in my hands, before I even started working with the GFA, everybody knew I had a contract with Dortmund and to even come here was very difficult and the GFA put a lot of effort to get me released,” he said in a press briefing in Qatar on Saturday following Ghana’s exit from the World Cup.

“What you have to know is the position I have as a talent coach is very crucial to Dortmund. We produce a lot of big talents. It is a crucial and important position for the club’’.

“Normally they won’t have to let me go but because I want to help the country and the GFA went there and had good talks, they released me for six months,” he added.

Addo won four games during his time with the Black Stars, beating Madagascar and South Korea in competitive games with the other victories coming against Nicaragua and Switzerland in friendlies.

Ghana qualified for the World Cup at the expense of Nigeria on 1-1 aggregate following a goalless draw in Kumasi and 1-1 in Abuja on March 29, 2022.

The Black Stars lost to Brazil and Uruguay and grabbed a 1-1 draw against Central African Republic in the other games under Otto Addo.

Ghana crashed out of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament after finishing bottom of Group H with three points.

The team suffered two defeats to Portugal (3-2) and Uruguay (2-0) and defeated South Korea 3-2 in the other Group match.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS

MY AWARD IS DEDICATED TO THE ENTIRE TEAM – KUDUS

Mohammed Kudus has dedicated his Player of the Match award to the entire team following a scintillating display that earned Ghana a 3-2 win over South Korea at Education City stadium in Doha Monday.

Kudus headed home a Jordan Ayew cross in the 34th minute to take the tally to 2-0 following an opening goal from Mohammed Salisu in the 24th minute but Ghana threw away the 2-0 lead as the Asian giants came back stronger in the second half to draw level through Cho Gue-sung, in the 58th and 61st minutes of the encounter.

Mohammed Kudus again popped up to smash home the match winner for Ghana in the 68th minute after connecting from a Gideon Mensah cross.

‘’I think we played together as a team and we all deserve credit for this win and the award’’ he told ghanafa.org.

‘’We just have to continue to work hard in the next game to get another victory to take us to the next round of the tournament’’.

”The matches are not easy, all the teams are tough but I have always said we will take the games one after the other and so we will see what happens in the next game on Friday’’.

”We are happy to win today, we will go back home, rest well and prepare for the next match against Uruguay’’ Kudus added.

The Black Stars needed three points to avoid early elimination and looked set to cruise to victory after Mohammed Salisu and Kudus put them up 2-0 at halftime.

Mohammed Kudus becomes the first Ghanaian player to score two goals in One match at the FIFA World Cup since our first appearance in Germany 2006.

The win over South Korea is Ghana’s first World Cup victory since June 26, 2010 when the Black Stars beat USA 2-1 in the Round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana later crashed out of the tournament after losing to Uruguay in the quarter finals.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS

GHANA EDGE OUT SOUTH KOREA IN THRILLING ENCOUNTER

Mohammed Kudus scored the match winner as Ghana won an action-packed game against South Korea at Education City Stadium in Qatar.

Coming from a disappointing 3-2 loss to Portugal in the opening game the Black Stars needed a win to get their campaign back in track and that was exactly the outcome.

Ghana Coach Otto Addo made three changes to the side that lost to Portugal as he brought in Gideon Mensah, Jordan Ayew and Tariq Lamptey for Alidu Seidu, Alexander Djiku and Baba Abdul Rahman.

The Black Stars scored two quick fire goals in the 24th and 34th minutes through Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Back from recess, South Korea stunned the noisy Ghanaian fans with two goals in three minutes to level matters. Cho Gue-sung, top-scorer in his domestic league, levelled the game after 61 minutes after reducing the deficit in the 58th minute.

With the game tied at 2-2, Mohammed Kudus blasted home a third for Ghana in the 68th minute to break South Korea’s hearts.

Chances continued to fall South Korea’s way as they searched for another equaliser but, despite 10 minutes of added time, Ghana held on to win 3-2.

GFA COKMMUNICATIONS

World Cup 2022: Group A Match Report – Qatar 1-3 Senegal

Senegal got the better of host nation Qatar to revive their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the World Cup at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.

The Teranga Lions claimed a 3-1 victory over the Maroon to record their first win of the tournament in Qatar on Thursday.

Aliou Cissé made a couple of alterations to the team as Famara Diedhiou and Ismail Jakobs were handed their first starts of the tournament.

The Teranga Lions got the breakthrough few minutes before the halftime break after Boulaye Dia pounced on a defensive mistake by the Qataris to slot home the opening goal.

Three after the interval, Senegal doubled their advantage when striker Diedhiou headed into the net a corner-kick from Monaco player Jakobs.

After conceding the second goal, the Maroon were more transformed and started asking questions.

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy pulled off a brilliant save to deny Ali Almoez’s shot after receiving a defence-splitting pass in the 63rd minute. Course: ghanasoccernet

World Cup 2022: Top Ghana FA officials tried to confront referee Ismail Elfath after ‘shameful’ decision in Portugal defeat – Sources

Top Ghana FA officials were left fuming with rage and went looking for disgraced American referee Ismail Elfath to complain about his sub-standard performance in the country’s controversial 3-2 defeat to Portugal on Thursday night.

Pressure is mounting on the world governing body, FIFA to take action against the 40-year-old Major League Soccer referee following his dubious penalty decision for Portugal against the Black Stars at the 974 Stadium in Doha at the biggest stage of world football – the World Cup.

Ghana FA officials were left angered by the conduct of the referee after he refused to consult the VAR for a second opinion on the imaginary penalty call against the four-time African champions and several other disjointed decisions.

The Moroccan-born American official refused to have a second look on the VAR monitor and judged Mohammed Salisu’s challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo as a foul.

However, television replays have shown the referee got it wrong and that decision should never have stood.

This shameful decision has sparked outrage around the world, with many questioning the essence of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to reduce such unfortunate incidents.

The dubious penalty awarded to Portugal changed the complexity of the game as Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cup as the Europeans were made to sweat to win 3-2 in Doha on Thursday night.

The world has been stunned by the refusal of referee Ismail Elfath to take a second look at his initial decision.

After Ronaldo converted the controversial penalty, it wasn’t long before Ghana came back, with Andre Ayew slotting the ball past the Portuguese keeper at the 75th minute from a pass from teammate Mohammed Kudus.

Soon after, Joao Felix put Portugal back in the lead at minute 78, with Rafael Leao widening the lead two minutes later.

Ghana’s Osman Bukari managed to close the gap in minute 89, but it was too late for the Black Stars to come back.

Uruguay and South Korea, the other two teams in group H, ended their game earlier today with a 0-0 draw.

The controversial victory places Portugal in an early lead as the team aims to make it out of the group stage.

It could have been the world cups’ biggest ridicule, but Inaki Williams slipped.

The Portuguese goalkeeper had no idea he had a rival behind him, and disaster was on the way.

It had the potential to be the biggest mockery of the World Cups, but Inaki Williams slipped and was unable to complete the great mischief that would have given Ghana a draw against Portugal.

An action almost unheard of in professional football was about to end goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s career, as he was robbed of a ball right under his nose.

What happened in the final seconds of this Group H match?

The goalkeeper had control of the ball, dribbling it around his own area and giving instructions to his teammates; the problem was that he didn’t realise a silent and cunning Inaki Williams was lurking behind him.

Williams realised the Portuguese goalkeeper was unaware of his presence, so he remained silent a few metres behind him, and as soon as the goalkeeper dropped the ball to clear it, the player shot from the six-yard box to steal the ball.

And he succeeded! He appeared on the right, passed the goalkeeper, and the ball arrived; however, when he attempted to turn, he slipped, complicating matters.

Despite this, the Ghanaian was able to maintain control after rising to his feet and leaving the goalkeeper prone with a touch, but before he could fire, a defender appeared just in time to steal the ball and frustrate what could have been one of the most bearish ‘bears’. greats in World Cup history.

Was it Diogo’s lack of concentration or Williams’ vivacity that was more noticeable? The truth is that this childish play could have been the climax of the crazy game between Portugal and Ghana, which ended 3-2

World Cup 2022: We can make things better in our next game – Ghana captain Andre Ayew 

Ghana captain Andre Ayew says the team will be able to sail through its difficult situation following ahead of their second group game against South Korea on Monday.

The Black Stars lost 3-2 to Portugal at the Stadium 974 in Doha on Thursday.

Portugal took an early lead through Cristiano Ronaldo from the penalty spot before Andre Ayew equalized for Ghana.

Joao Felix and Raphael Leao score both goals for Portugal to win the game before Osman Bukari grabbed a consolation for Ghana.

Speaking at the post-match conference, the Al Sadd captain is optimistic the team will return good in their game against South Korea on Monday November 28.

“We qualified for the world from a very difficult group and conditions. I know this team we always get out of very difficult conditions.

“I am convinced we would return good in the next game. We showed good character in the game against Portugal, and we can make things better in the next game,” Captain Ayew stated.

He admitted the team paid for its mistakes made in the first game.

“In football you would always pay for your mistakes, and that is what happened to us.

“We made some errors, and they punished us for that. The last two goals from Portugal were so quick we could not recover, but we have always survived difficult conditions and we would come back good,” he explained.

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