Mohammed Kudus Brace Not Enough as Ghana Share Spoils With Egypt in AFCON Thriller

• Ghana have been held by Egypt at the Nations Cup
• Mohammed Kudus scored twice in the 2-2 draw
• The Black Stars will next face Mozambique in Abidjan

West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus announced his presence at the Africa Cup of Nations after scoring a brace in Ghana's 2-2 draw with Egypt in the Group B headliner.

The 23-year-old opened the scoring with a ferocious strike at the stroke of half-time but the Pharaohs levelled after the break through Omar Marmoush.

Kudus responded after a minute with another brilliant strike but the lead lasted only three minutes as Egypt equalized through Mohamed Mustafa.

Mohamed Salah was forced off with an injury just before the break and had to be replaced by Mohamed Fathi.

With Kudus' fitness the major talking point before the start of the game, it was surprising to him start for the Black Stars.

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The former Ajax player wasted no time in announcing himself in the game after firing from long range just two minutes into the game.

The Black Stars dominated the opening exchanges and forced Egypt into making mistakes in their goal area with one resulting in a freekick, but Jordan Ayew's effort went wide.

Just before halftime, Kudus managed to get a strike on target despite being surrounded by several Egypt players.

With twenty minutes remaining, the Pharaohs pulled level following a mistake from Inaki Williams but Kudus responded momentarily with another great strike.

While the Black Stars were yet to finish their celebrations, the Egyptians took advantage of another mistake by Ghana, after Osman Bukari failed to keep the ball in his box as Omar Marmoush pounced on from a cross.

Ghana will next face Mozambique with Egypt engaging Cape Verde.

Kudus scores brace on AFCON debut

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Sports Brief also reported that West Ham United forward Mohammed Kudus scored a brace on his Africa Cup of Nations debut to secure Ghana a point in their Group B headliner against Egypt on Thursday.

The 23-year-old twice gave Ghana the lead before costly mistakes from his teammates ended with the two teams sharing the spoils at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Abidjan.

Before the game, Kudus' fitness was a huge concern for Ghana as he had to be assessed in the last 24 hours to be declared ready for the match.