World Cup qualifier: Ghana 3-1 Zimbabwe

Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey and Andre Ayew were all on target as Milovan Rajevac started his second spell in charge of Ghana with a really impressive 3-1 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Zimbabwe on Saturday.

The 67-year-old – who first managed Ghana between 2008 and 2010 – took over from Charles Akonnor in September and supervised by far the team’s best performance in 2021, which resulted in a deserved victory at the Cape Coast Stadium in front of about 4,000 spectators.

The team played with passion and intensity, especially in the first half, to score more than two goals, only for the second time this year. The first was in a match against 191-ranked Sao Tome and Principe.

Re-live the action below:

And Ghana are up and running here in Cape Coast. Mohammed Kudus with a delightful finish to give the Black Stars a 1-0 advantage.

Kudus received the ball at the edge of the box, played a nice one-two with Jordan Ayew before slotting the ball past Zimbabwe goalkeeper. 

The Ajax midfielder had missed the first two games in the qualifiers due to a knee problem.

1st Half

A look at how both teams are lined up. Ghana starting with two debutants Jojo Wollacott and Fatawu Issahaku.

16′1st Half ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe appears to have settled into the game and passing the ball among themselves confidently. They have made a couple of incursions into the box of the Ghanaians but no danger for the Black Stars defence.

18′1st Half GHANA

Black Stars carve out Zimbabwe defence again. Brilliant play between Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mohammed Kudus but the latter shoots straight at the goalkeeper. Should have been 2-0 for Ghana.Updated: 17 hours ago

21′1st Half GHANA

A good run by Issahaku Fatawu, who is making his senior national team debut. He skipped past two challenges but slipped while pulling the trigger, resulting in a feeble effort for the goalkeeper to comfortably collect.

25′1st Half GHANA

A couple of chances for Ghana to get the second. First Kamaldeen Sulemana goal-bound effort is deflected for a corner. The resultant corner sees Baba Rahman try to curl one into the net from the edge of the box but the ball hits the side net.

31′1st Half GHANA

30 minutes gone and Black Stars are in total control. After opening the scoring in the 5th minute, they have a couple of decent opportunities to extend their lead. Zimbabwe haven’t troubled Black Stars defence.

39′1st Half ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe try to get back on level terms. Their first corner is brilliantly whipped in by captain Knowledge Musona but the danger is dealt with by the Ghanaians.

41′1st Half GHANA

The ball is the net but won’t count because Sulemana is clearly offside. Zimbabwe lucky as they remain in contention.