Comoros Pulls Off A Historic Upset To Knock Out Ghana On AFCON Debut
This month, Comoros recorded one of the greatest upsets in the history of the African Cup of Nations, with a 3-2 victory over Ghana in Group C. The tiny archipelago country kicked the four-time champion from the tournament hosted in Cameroon this month.
With the country only admitted as a FIFA member in 2005, the continent’s fourth-smallest nation stunned many online sports betting fans and the Ghanian team that featured several EPL stars on their debut game. That was the first AFCON win for Comoros.
Ahmed Mogni put a close-range finish with only five minutes to stoppage time, deciding a pulsating match and sparkling euphoric scenes in the dressing room. The goal also gave Comoros a chance at qualifying for the knockout stages, with the country being among the best-ranking third-place teams.
The elation of Comoros in the tournament served as a huge contrast to the disgraceful defeat of Ghana. The Black Stars whose team included stars like Leicester’s Daniel Amartey, Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew, and Arsenal’s midfielder Thomas Partey hadn’t failed to reach the Group Stage in over 15 years.
The humiliating way that the Ghanaians had put more pressure on Coach Milovan Rajevac, who managed the team that secured victory in a matter of minutes during the 2010 World Cup semifinals. The Serbian will now need to rally his team before the crucial third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for March. Ghana will be in the CAF (Confederation of African Football) pot two, with Betway offering odds on the game.
Comoros had previously made history after only four minutes in the game when El Fardou Ben Nabouhane sent in a low drive past Ghana’s goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott to give the nation their first AFCON goal. The nightmare start for Ghana became even worse after Andre Ayew got controversially sent out for challenging the Comoros goalkeeper Salim Boina.
While Ghana was Betway’s favorite ahead of the match, their elimination of Ayew from the game highly affected their performance. The Al Sadd star collided with the goalkeeper while attempting to pounce on his spilled catch shot by Ben Biona, who subsequently went out due to an injury, with Ali Ahamada replacing him.
Comoros had managed to double the lead by half-time after Mogni brilliantly struck a low shot past Wollacott from inside the box. The goal instigated an exciting choreographed group celebration from the whole team and the substitutes.
A few minutes later, the Ghanian team responded after Richmond Boakye sent a kick home from a corner. Over 10 minutes after Djiku tapped Partey’s header, the two teams were at equals courtesy of another player. However, the fairytale wasn’t to be denied the win, with Mogni converting Bendjaloud Youssouf’s low cross to give a historic win for this island nation. While the island nation ousted Ghana in the Group stages, Comoros couldn’t reach the quarterfinals after losing 2-1 to the hosts, Cameroon. Comoros had to play the game with an outfield player standing as the goalkeeper and Cameroon managed to do the heavy work to beat the 10-man Comoros islands squad.
