Ghana captain Andre Ayew believes Mohammed Kudus, who has established himself as one of the rising stars of the 2022 World Cup, has much more to offer.
Kudus, who was outstanding in Ghana’s opening loss to Portugal, scored twice for the Black Stars in a 3-2 triumph over South Korea last time out.
That outcome means Otto Addo’s squad will go into their last Group H match, against Uruguay, knowing that a win will ensure their spot in the last 16, but a draw may potentially enough.
Kudus, who was close to joining Everton in August, arrived in Qatar having enjoyed a fine start to the season for Ajax, scoring 10 times, and his form at the tournament has been attracting interest from bigger clubs, with Barcelona director Jordi Cruyff confirming the Blaugrana have been tracking the 22-year-old.
“He has a bright future in front of him,” Ayew said of Kudus.
“We know this, I know this, Ghana knows it now, the world is going to know it. You’ll see, more is coming from my boy.
“Hopefully he can keep on shining because he has a really bright future.”
Their only prior World Cup matchup was in the quarterfinals in South Africa almost 12 years ago.
Luis Suarez used his hand to prevent Dominic Adiyiah’s header on the line with the score tied at 1-1.
The Uruguayan striker was sent off, but Asamoah Gyan rattled the crossbar with the next penalty attempt, and Ghana went on to lose the penalty shootout.
While Addo has stated that Ghana would not seek vengeance, the game at Al Janoub Stadium will undoubtedly be tense.
Uruguay have taken just one point from their opening two matches and need to win to progress, while also relying on Portugal not to slip up against South Korea.
Players to Watch
Ghana: Mohammed Kudus
Ghana has scored in each of their past seven World Cup games, and they are on track to tie Nigeria’s record of eight goals in a World Cup game established between 1994 and 1998.
Kudus will almost certainly play a crucial part in their victory. He is the first player in Black Stars history to score twice in a World Cup match, and another goal in the tournament would equal Gyan’s record tally of three goals in a single World Cup for Ghana.
His first goal against South Korea ended a 31-pass sequence that set a World Cup record for Ghana.
Uruguay: Federico Valverde
Ghana has scored in each of their past seven World Cup games, and they are on track to tie Nigeria’s record of eight goals in a World Cup game established between 1994 and 1998.
Kudus will almost certainly play a crucial part in their victory. He is the first player in Black Stars history to score twice in a World Cup match, and another goal in the tournament would equal Gyan’s record tally of three goals in a single World Cup for Ghana.
His first goal against South Korea ended a 31-pass sequence that set a World Cup record for Ghana.
Ghana vs Uruguay Prediction
Despite Uruguay’s disappointing start in Qatar, our match prediction model still ranks them as favorites for this one, with a 54.8% chance of winning.
Uruguay has never lost a World Cup match against an African country, and Opta gives Ghana a 21.3% chance of winning.
The draw has a 23.9% chance of happening, and it would suit Ghana as long as Korea does not beat Portugal by two goals.
