The Black Stars bolstered their chances of securing qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a slender home win over Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Djiku’s second-half header proved the decisive goal between the two powerhouses of African football at a packed forty-five thousand stadium capacity in Accra.
The first half ended in a drab draw, with little to choose between the two teams, who had the sole ambition of winning the game.
Ghana’s real first shot at goal came at the half-hour mark as Jordan Ayew’s attempted shot at goal, which skewed off the post, much to the relief of the Malian goalkeeper, Djigui Diarra.
The away team was comfortable containing the home side, stretching play and tiring them out at every opportune moment.
The second half tweak in mindset saw the team play with lots of attacking intensity and progress the ball steadily with purpose.
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Yirenkyi’s marauding cross or shot nearly found the back of the net but was smartly tipped over by Djigui Diarra.
The resulting corner by Jordan was intelligently tapped in by Alex Djiku in the 48th minute.
As the game stretched, the visiting coach, Tom Saintfiet, introduced fresh legs in Dorgeles Nene, who became a constant threat to the defence of the BlackStars.
Otto Addo made changes as well, Kamaldeen for Semenyo in the 70th minute, but his body language and facial disposition were glaring for all to see his anguish at being taken out of the game.
There were more changes to manage the game.
Joseph Painstil and Inaki for Kudus and Jordan, an attacking change in the 80th minute.
The home team held on to crucially pick a home win, aiding them to six unbeaten games in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Black Stars top the pack with 19 points, three points off Madagascar, seven points off Mali, with the October qualifiers looming.
