Mohammed Kudus scored the winning goal for Ghana as they saw off South Korea 3-2 in one of the most entertaining matches so far at the Qatar World Cup.
In a game that had plenty of opportunities, Ghana capitalised on mistakes made in the South Korea defence throughout the first half, which prompted them to take the lead in the game.
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Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew delivered a wonderful free-kick from a set-piece into the 18-yard box that found Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu, who poked the ball past Kim Seung-gyu to give his nation the lead.
Ghana quickly doubled their advantage when Ayew whipped in another wonderful cross that found Mohammed Kudus, who fired the ball into the bottom left-hand corner with a glancing header.
The second half saw a completely different response from South Korea and they got themselves back in the game through Gue-Sung Cho, who fired home a brilliant header after a wonderful cross from substitute Kang-In Lee.
Read more: South Korea advances to knockout stage with dramatic stoppage time goal to beat Portugal
Sung Cho bagged his second in quick succession when Kim Jin-Su delivered in the ball from the left-hand side of the pitch which found the head of the 24-year-old when he was dispensed midway in the air. His powerful header was slammed past Lawrence Ati-Zigi to level the scoreline.
Ghana then took the lead again when Kudus slotted the ball low into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to set off glorious scenes in the Education City Stadium.
South Korea’s wing-backs struggled to defend crosses coming into the box throughout the entirety of the match and that is ultimately where they were punished for their mistakes.
South Korea’s manager, Paulo Bento, was shown a red card after the final whistle by referee Anthony Taylor.
Overall, Ghana deserved their victory and will go into their last group match against Uruguay with hope they can progress to the knockouts.
Key moment of the match – the winning goal from Mohammed Kudus
It was undoubtedly the biggest moment of the game and one which gave Ghana all three points in the end.
Left-back Gideon Mensah pushed forward to deliver a low cross into the box that initially met the feet of Inaki Williams, who scuffed the shot.
Luckily for Ghana, the ball was directed towards Kudus who, with a first time attempt, slotted the ball past Seung-Gyu Kim.
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The goal ultimately separated the two sides and sealed a vital win for Ghana in the game.
Man of the match – Mohammed Kudus
It was a close call and could’ve easily been given to other players, but as he got two goals and scored the winner, it’s hard to look past Mohammed Kudus being the man of the match.
The Ajax forward was simply everywhere in the game, be it helping his defence or scoring goals.
Alongside his two finishes, Kudus also made two tackles, one interception and won four ground duels.
It was a complete performance by the 22-year-old.
South Korea vs Ghana key statistic
At 22 years and 118 days old, Mohammed Kudus is the second youngest African player to score two goals in a World Cup match, after Ahmed Musa (21 years 254 days) for Nigeria against Argentina in 2014.
What does this mean?
The result means Ghana will climb to second in Group H on three points, level with Portugal who play Uruguay later.
If Uruguay beat Portugal, the South American nation will leapfrog Ghana into second place, with the two teams playing each other in their final group match.
South Korea go bottom of the group but can still put themselves in with a chance of qualifying for the knockouts should they beat Portugal in their final game.
What next?
Ghana will play Uruguay in their final group match on Friday, December 2, while South Korea play Portugal on the same day. Both kick-off at 15:00 BST.
(Photo: Getty Images)
