Garry Rodrigues came off the bench to score a stoppage time winner as Cape Verde stunned Ghana 2-1 in an entertaining Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) match played at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Sunday.
Cape Verde, who were making just their fourth appearance at the tournament and had previously won just two games in the competition, took the lead in the 17th minute after Jamiro Monteiro found himself unmarked to tap in a loose ball into an empty net after Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori failed to hold on to Jovane Cabral’s fierce first-time effort.
Seeking a first AFCON title since 1982, Ghana thought they had gone level through Majeed Ashimeru’s wonderful strike from distance but the effort was ruled out for offside as Königsdorffer was judged to have stood in an offside position while blocking Cape Verde shot-stopper Vozinha’s line of sight.
In the final half, Ghana came out of the dressing room more hungry and scored off a corner set piece when Jordan Ayew swung in a corner that Alexander Djiku bundled into the bottom corner to restore parity.
In added time, Rodrigues’ 92nd-minute tap-in following an embarrassing mix-up at the heart of the defence saw Cape Verde win.
Cape Verde, who will face Mozambique next will now be confident of reaching the knockout stages, just like they did in 2013 and 2021 if they win their second match.
For Ghana, not only does this result mean they have won just one of their last eight AFCON matches, their title-tilt is already in danger as they next face a tough fixture against seven-time winners Egypt.
Cape Verde sit top of Group B with three points followed by Egypt and Mozambique both with one point. Ghana are bottom without a point.
