I agree thought the centerbacks played well, not so much Ayew mido shouldn't play him in defense again... Dede was non-existent, Opuku was reckless at times but caused headaches for Eboue who eventually snapped
Afful came in to play at the back while Ayew moved up to Opoku's position which he is better suited for imo
I thought Dede actually started playing nicely near the end of the first half. He sent in two-three good balls into the penalty area that created a threat. Rahim Ayew looked very dangerous when he went up front. However I hardly notice his presence in defence.
While I can agree the CBs were ok, no way the fullbacks worked today. But the main problem was not the defence (as in the players in the defence) that was most at fault, IMO, but the defensive scheme in general, including the midfield. Basically, they didn't work as they did before. No one was covering the attacks in the middle, the foul that caused CdI second goal was because of that. With mostly wingers and attacking mids, there was no one in midfield to cover the holes when CdI launched a counter. Les Éléphants played a very good game, but you have to admit this was a poor display by a depleted Ghana team.
Exactly. That was one of the problems in defense. As I saw it, Ghana was using this formation in the second half (when CdI was mostly with 10): ----------Kingson------------ Inkoom--Addo--Vorsah--Rahim ------------Essien----------- -----Badu--------Asamoah--- Amoah----------------Opoku ------------Gyan------------ I may be wrong, though. I was watching a rather poor feed (in this area, no channel has the games and I don't have satellite). The problem with that formation is that with Essien running to the front, a hole was left in the middle that Badu didn't cover.
played pretty well, threatening in the air from set pieces and corners, did give up a 'penalty' at the end of the game though
Palacas: It was hardly his fault with the penalty. He did his job and defended well. The penalty was a travesty, because it was given for some good piece of defending. That said Ghana deserved a penalty for some rash fouls on Opoku by Eboue in the first half.
Inkoom was good yesterday. Very good in the first half. His crosses were pure class. He always scurried back when caught out of position and really himself felt both in defence and attack. He was to blame however for the third goal, but apart from that never made a mistake and was probably the best player in the Ghanaian squad. It was a very poor display in the second half, but they looked quite good at times in the first. I really think a 4:4:2 formation would be much better for Ghana. I disagree with Dede having a poor game. I do however think that Kwadwo Asamoah had a bad game apart from one or two flashes of brilliance (including Ghana's best move of the game with his shot on goal). Essien was non-existant and Badu was anonymous. Opoku was a bit chaotic but did some damage on the left. Moussa Narry didn't work out.