Sammy Adjei (8) - Kept us in the game. Very good reflex and confirmed himself as one of the best shot stoppers on the continent. Very confident and scolded the defence a lot for silly mistakes. Would forever be remembered for the sensational save of Obafemi's strike.
Addoquaye Pappoe (4) - Unimpressive performance. Playing as wing back, he hardly moved forward to support the midfield. Had a dificult time handling the Nigerian right wing back-Ozaze. Didn't look too comfortable whenever he was cornered since he had to continuously move the ball to his right foot before kicking it away
John Paintsil (4) - The right wing back failed to impress raising question marks as to his suitability for defence. Hardly moved forward and had a tough time dealing with ANC rookie Taiwo and Oruma anytime they made inroads to the right side of the Ghanaian defence.
Osei-Kuffour (9) Undoubtedly the best Ghanaian player on the pitch. Played flawlessly that Obafemi Martins looked like an ordinary striker. Gave a scare when he got injured but the warrior in him dragged him back to finish the battle.
John Mensah (7) - Another tower in defence. Majestic in the air and was there shoulder to shoulder with Sammy Osei-Kuffour. He marked out Julius Aghahowa( who had to be substituted). But for two silly mistakes which nearly resulted in goals, he was flawless in puting a foot forward.
Issah Ahmed (6) - Didn't have a lot of dirty work to do since Kuffour marked out Martins whiles Mensah took care off Aghahowa. Nothing special but for somebody he was making his ANC debut, deserves commendation.
Abubakar Yakubu (3) This is a game that he will like to forget as quickly as possible. I guess Essien's boots are too big for him to fill. The worst player on the field as he failed to start any meaningful attacks but rather involved in unnecessary fouls and could have been sent. Lacked stamina and was let down because he was left to do all the midfield dirty work thus exposing him.
Laryea Kingston (4) Didn't live to his billing. The 'Chenchen Warrior' has seen better days. Pinpoint passes which caused confusion in the Nigerian goal area, but didn't bring anything to the table. Should have been subsituted. Missed one of the most incredible chances of the tourney. Failed to support Yakubu in the midfield battle.
Haminu Dramani (5) Inexperienced. Spent the whole 90 minutes defending the left defence with Pappoe rendering the left midfield redundant. Comfortable with the ball, but needs to have confidence in himself. No attack was initiated from the left. Made a timely clearance when Adjei failed to make a first time catch. Average performance.
Stephen Appiah (7) Underachieved in the first half as he went to sleep till the closing stages. When he woke up, he converted useless chances into golden chances and forced the Nigerian goalie to do some extra work.
Matthew Amoah (8) -- A World Class striker by all standards. Was impressive upfront for somebody who doesn't normally play as a target striker. Missed an incredible chance (the header), but playing as a lone striker he exposed the Nigerian defence.Lacked the right support but he created his own chances and was probably Nigeria's worst nightmare today. If anyone had the chance of scoring it was Amoah. Slipped into oblivion in the last quater when Ghana back-pedalled and started defending.
Substitutes Hans and Joe Tex - Should have been introduced earlier. Didn't have any impact.
Dujkovic 6 Mounted a sensational strategy(5-4-1 formation) to AVOID A DEFEAT but forgot about WINNING. His substitutions weren't timely. Yakubu should have been substituted earlier on. IF he really wanted to win he should have introduced Joe Tex to support Amoah earlier in the game. And it remains a mystery as to why between Dramani and Pappoe one was not subbed earlier on becos they were virtually playing the same position. An average performance. The story could have been diferent had Amoah and Kingston scored those golden chances
Sammy Adjei (8) - Kept us in the game. Very good reflex and confirmed himself as one of the best shot stoppers on the continent. Very confident and scolded the defence a lot for silly mistakes. Would forever be remembered for the sensational save of Obafemi's strike.
Addoquaye Pappoe (4) - Unimpressive performance. Playing as wing back, he hardly moved forward to support the midfield. Had a dificult time handling the Nigerian right wing back-Ozaze. Didn't look too comfortable whenever he was cornered since he had to continuously move the ball to his right foot before kicking it away
John Paintsil (4) - The right wing back failed to impress raising question marks as to his suitability for defence. Hardly moved forward and had a tough time dealing with ANC rookie Taiwo and Oruma anytime they made inroads to the right side of the Ghanaian defence.
Osei-Kuffour (9) Undoubtedly the best Ghanaian player on the pitch. Played flawlessly that Obafemi Martins looked like an ordinary striker. Gave a scare when he got injured but the warrior in him dragged him back to finish the battle.
John Mensah (7) - Another tower in defence. Majestic in the air and was there shoulder to shoulder with Sammy Osei-Kuffour. He marked out Julius Aghahowa( who had to be substituted). But for two silly mistakes which nearly resulted in goals, he was flawless in puting a foot forward.
Issah Ahmed (6) - Didn't have a lot of dirty work to do since Kuffour marked out Martins whiles Mensah took care off Aghahowa. Nothing special but for somebody he was making his ANC debut, deserves commendation.
Abubakar Yakubu (3) This is a game that he will like to forget as quickly as possible. I guess Essien's boots are too big for him to fill. The worst player on the field as he failed to start any meaningful attacks but rather involved in unnecessary fouls and could have been sent. Lacked stamina and was let down because he was left to do all the midfield dirty work thus exposing him.
Laryea Kingston (4) Didn't live to his billing. The 'Chenchen Warrior' has seen better days. Pinpoint passes which caused confusion in the Nigerian goal area, but didn't bring anything to the table. Should have been subsituted. Missed one of the most incredible chances of the tourney. Failed to support Yakubu in the midfield battle.
Haminu Dramani (5) Inexperienced. Spent the whole 90 minutes defending the left defence with Pappoe rendering the left midfield redundant. Comfortable with the ball, but needs to have confidence in himself. No attack was initiated from the left. Made a timely clearance when Adjei failed to make a first time catch. Average performance.
Stephen Appiah (7) Underachieved in the first half as he went to sleep till the closing stages. When he woke up, he converted useless chances into golden chances and forced the Nigerian goalie to do some extra work.
Matthew Amoah (8) -- A World Class striker by all standards. Was impressive upfront for somebody who doesn't normally play as a target striker. Missed an incredible chance (the header), but playing as a lone striker he exposed the Nigerian defence.Lacked the right support but he created his own chances and was probably Nigeria's worst nightmare today. If anyone had the chance of scoring it was Amoah. Slipped into oblivion in the last quater when Ghana back-pedalled and started defending.
Substitutes Hans and Joe Tex - Should have been introduced earlier. Didn't have any impact.
Dujkovic 6 Mounted a sensational strategy(5-4-1 formation) to AVOID A DEFEAT but forgot about WINNING. His substitutions weren't timely. Yakubu should have been substituted earlier on. IF he really wanted to win he should have introduced Joe Tex to support Amoah earlier in the game. And it remains a mystery as to why between Dramani and Pappoe one was not subbed earlier on becos they were virtually playing the same position. An average performance. The story could have been diferent had Amoah and Kingston scored those golden chances
