Mohammed Kudus has shared his disappointment after Ghana’s 2-2 draw against Egypt in the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Thursday night.
The West Ham attacker who had been struggling with a lingering injury leading to his absence in their first game against Cape Verde returned to action with an impressive performance against the record holders.
AFCON 2023: Kudus out, Inaki benched vs. Cape Verde
The 23-year-old wasted no time in announcing his presence on the continental stage as he smashed home a stunning strike just before half-time to give Ghana the lead.
However, defensive lapses meant Kudus had to try again when Egypt equalised. He did and succeeded in getting Ghana back into the lead only for another error to deny Ghana all three points settling for a draw.
Expressing his elation for being back on the turf, the former Ajax Amsterdam attacker was also quick to point out the avoidable errors which cost the Black Stars in a game that almost looked like a win.
“I’m happy to be back. I worked so hard to get back to the top and help my team, my nation. It’s important for me to be here,” Kudus said after the match.
“It’s a mixed feeling. As a forward, you want your goals to have an impact on the result. We made careless mistakes. Now we’ll have to get back to work, win the next one and then see what happens,” he added.
Ghana will now lock horns with Mozambique on Monday in a must-win encounter as they seek to qualify. Ahead of the game, Kudus, whose performance earned him the Man of The Match award pledged his commitment stating the team’s aim to go all the way to clinch the ultimate.
“We are not out. The objective remains the same, which is to take the trophy home.”