Ghana brushed aside Guinea-Bissau 2-0 Tuesday evening to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
The victory at the Suez Stadium ensured the Black Stars finished as Group F winners while the African Wild Dogs bowed out of the tournament after placing bottom.
Guinea-Bissau were pressed by coach Kwasi Appiah’s side in the opening stages of the match, but they looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
The African Wild Dogs came very close to scoring through Piqueti Djassi Brito Silva following a quick counter in the 18th minute. The Saudi Arabia-based winger’s curling effort was brilliantly saved by Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori, who pushed the ball onto the crossbar.
Ghana then piled more pressure on the African Wild Dogs’ defence and Jordan Ayew’s powerful low shot hit the upright just after the half-hour mark.
The momentum was with Ghana with the halftime break approaching and they had another chance to break the deadlock.
Jordan’s older brother, Andre Ayew, went through and shot at goal, but the Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Jonas Mendes denied the Ghana captain.
The score was 0-0 at the interval following a first half which was dominated by Ghana.
The Black Stars got off to the perfect start as they broke the deadlock through Jordan Ayew, who beat his marker before scoring to make it 1-0 to Ghana a minute after the restart.
Guinea-Bissau nearly responded with a goal as Joseph Mendes’s powerful low shot hit the upright with Maritzburg United keeper Ofori well-beaten.
The African Wild Dogs were growing in confidence and Ofori had to produce a magnificent diving save to deny Mamadu Cande, who was looking to score with a free-kick just after the hour-mark.
However, Ghana made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute following a moment of brilliance as Andre Ayew set up Baba Rahman, whose low cross was turned home by Thomas Partey.
Ghana pushed for more goals in the closing stages of the game but Guinea-Bissau stood firm at the back.
The Black Stars will face the second-placed team from Group E in the last-16 stage of the competition.
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