The Black Stars of Ghana were held to a 0-0 draw by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in their second group game of the 2019 AFCON at the Ismailia Stadium in Egypt on Saturday.
The game was the second stalemate for the Black Stars in the tournament following their opening 2-2 draw with the Squirrels of Benin.
The Black Stars were looking for a win to enhance their chances of qualifying to the round of 16 after their 2-2 draw with Benin in the first group game, but the fastest tactical switch by Cameroon saw them picking a point from the game.
Despite Kwasi Appiah winning the tactical battle against Clarence Seedorf in the second half, the Dutch manager showed his tactical prowess and how he responds to situations on the field.
Before we discuss the tactics and variations of both coaches, let’s look at the static formations of the two coaches to have a clearer understanding of how they approached the game.
Cameroon (4-4-2) – (5-1-3-1)
The Indomitable Lions stared the game with a 4-4-2 system and swiftly changed to 5-1-3-1 system under just 5 minutes, perhaps the fastest tactical switch of the tournament.
Andre Onana (GK)
Fai Collins
Thomas Bong
Kana Biyik
Michael Ngadeu
Ambroise Bitolo
Georges Mandjeck
Clinton Njie
Andre Aguissa
Christian Bassogog
Toko Ekambi
Ghana (4-2-1-3) – (4-2-3-1)
Ghana started the game with a 4-2-1-3 system that would have seen Kwadwo Asamoah playing wide on the flank to attack but it was latter switched to 4-2-3-1 with only Jordan Ayew leading the attack.
Richard Ofori
Andy Yiadom
Baba Rahman
Kassim Nuhu
Jonathan Mensah
Mubarak Wakaso
Thomas Partey
Andre Ayew (C)
Jordan Ayew
Kwadwo Asamoah
Christian Atsu
The Game
Cameroon came into the game with an attacking mindset and plan to keep possession and control the game starting with the 4-4-2 system. But Seedorf and Kluivert swiftly changed from that to a 5-1-3-1 or 5-4-1 system with a more defensive approach. The good thing for Cameroon was that, they had players who understood the coach and could switch at any time.
Thomas Bong, a left back dropped into central defence while Oyongo Bitolo dropped from left wing to play the left back position, giving Cameroon an unbreakable pillar at the back.
While doing this, Mandjeck, who stood in for skipper Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting dropped deeper into holding midfield role to provide the defenders with another shield while Njie dropped to the left wing to form a midfield trio with Anguissa and Bassogog leaving only Toko upfront.
With this system, Seedorf was looking to exploit the spaces that will be created behind Ghana’s lateral defender – Andy and Baba.
And one of the strategies of doing that is to tease your opponent to chase you with the ball while you take him on, on counter attack and that’s what Cameroon were in for. And truly,they looked dangerous anytime Njie teared away from Andy Yiadom.
So on the left side of Ghana’s defence, Cameroon had Bong, Bitolo and Njie and that could be one of the reasons they looked very dangerous when they build up from that side. Another reason could be to make sure Atsu was not in the thick of affairs as a good day for Ghana means a win for Ghana.
On the right where Cameroon had Fai Collins who was returning from suspension and Christian Bassogog, Ghana had to limit the tactical freedom of Kwadwo Asamoah to ensure Bassogog is rendered impotent in the game.
So while Cameroon were sitting back and trying to catch Ghana on swift counter attacks, the Black Stars had also prepared to put men on their swift players to stop their dangerous wing play.
Kwadwo Asamoah’s performance appeared to have been a disappointment to many Ghanaians but the reality is that he played more as a wing back than as an attacking midfielder and the player himself admitted he wasn’t happy with the role.
Baba Rahman’s runs and crosses were also limited from Ghana’s left back position because of the presence of Christian Bassogog and the role of Kwadwo Asamoah.
The central defensive pair of Kassim Adam and Jonathan Mensah kept Toko out of the game and Cameroon were only looking at exploiting on a defensive error or blunder to punish Ghana.
When Ghana started, Kwadwo was supposed to play on the side of Ghana’s attack while Andre Ayew played the typical number 10 role but that was changed because Kwadwo had to turn a wing back while Andre played wide from the left in a 4-2-3-1 system.
The role of Kwadwo Asamoah which forced Andre Ayew to play on the left with left a gasping gap between Ghana’s attack and the midfield which explains why Jordan Ayew kept dropping deep to fight for the balls making him inefficient as a striker. He always dropped to fight for balls in midfield reducing his striking prowess. But that could have stopped if Coach Kwasi Appiah had released Kwadwo Asamoah from the defensive role to his usual offensive role because Jordan wouldn’t have been dropping deep for the balls.
Andy Yiadom became the most troubled Ghanaian player in the game as Indomitable Lions had more men on the left side their attack.
Cameroon kept building up slowly unless they were attacking from a counter attack, that’s when u see them being swift. So it was always good that Ghana kept a close eye on them.
The second half of the game was, however, not like that as Cameroon felt a bit more confident of beating Ghana hence Seedorf making two quick changes – pulling out a left back Bong for a midfielder Gilles Arnaud while Bassogog also came off for Bahoken Cedric.
Cameroon went back to the 4-4-2 system they started with and Ghana gained some advantage.
The dynamics changed immediately as Cameroon started to enjoy some fluidity and running football but Kwasi Appiah had a plan.
Bringing on Asamoah Gyan and Kwabena Owusu meant Ghana were playing a typical 4-2-1-3 or 4-3-3 with Gyan leading the attack while Jordan played behind him with Kwabena Owusu and Samuel Owusu on the flanks.
Ghana’s attack became dangerous with Kwabena Owusu blasting the best chance of the half into the cross bar with his first touch after coming on.
It was too tactical a game but Kwasi Appiah’s substitutions could have unlocked Seedorf’s defensive pillar if Kwabena Owusu and Asamoah Gyan had come on a bit earlier.
Ghana will have to beat Guinea-Bissau to qualify to the next stage of the competition.
