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The Black Stars needed just a point to qualify for next year’s AFCON and they managed to hold Bafana Bafana to a draw at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
A second-half strike from Ajax star Kudus Mohammed was cancelled out by Percy Tau, as both teams shared the spoils in what was a cagey encounter.
Ghana coach CK Akonnor named a strong starting line-up that had a mixture of youth and experience due to the unavailability of some regular stars.
The absence of Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew and Thomas Partey meant that midfielder Mubarak Wakaso was named stand-in captain against South Africa.
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There were also debuts for Kwame Poku and Ismail Ganiyu, while Caleb Ekuban and Emmanuel Gyasi also got the nod in attack.
With the Black Stars drawing 1-1 against South Africa, Pulse Sports brings you five major talking points from the game:
Ghana books AFCON place
Ghana has qualified for the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon after holding South Africa to a 1-1 draw on Thursday.
The Black Stars are now mathematically guaranteed to finish in the top two of Group C following the result against Bafana Bafana.
Akonnor’s side currently sits at the top of the group with 10 points – the same as South Africa – although the Black Stars have a better goal difference.
Ghana also has a better head-to-head record over both South Africa and Sudan, with the Falcons occupying third place with nine points.
Mohammed Kudus is class
Every touch by Mohammed Kudus demonstrated the depth of his quality and maturity. The Ajax midfielder was a class above everyone else on the pitch and was the main driving force for Ghana.
The 20-year-old was on the scoresheet when the Black Stars beat South Africa in Cape Coast and he once again starred against Bafana Bafana, scoring Ghana’s lone goal.
It’s been a long time since Ghana had a player of such class and quality and it’s obvious that Kudus is the future of the Black Stars. Surely, the team must be built around him.
Percy Tau is not hype
Percy Tau is undoubtedly South Africa’s biggest player at the moment and the attacker did not disappoint against Ghana.
Just like Mohammed Kudus, Tau was on top of his game on Thursday and was clearly his side’s creative force.
The 26-year-old scored the equaliser against the Black Stars, marking his fourth goal in the AFCON qualifiers. Tau’s club career at Brighton and Hove Albion is yet to kick into gear but he’s shown that all the hype surrounding him is genuine and warranted.
Baba Rahman’s disaster-class
A few minutes after Ghana’s 1-1 draw against South Africa, Baba Rahman’s name rose to the top of the Twitter trends, but for bad reasons.
The left-back used to be Ghana’s best full-back but his stock has drastically fallen following a series of niggling injuries.
Rahman has not been the same since he suffered a ligament tear in 2017 and his performance against Bafana Bafana was once again disastrous. He may be a favourite of the coach but such uninspiring performances are likely to get him dropped for future matches.
Playing out of position hurt Kwame Poku
It is not often that so much interest is generated in a local footballer debuting for the Black Stars. However, all eyes were on Kwame Poku as he was named in Ghana’s starting line-up against South Africa.
The young striker recently sealed a big-money move from Kotoko to USM Alger and was aiming to make his mark in the national team.
Poku’s debut, though, ended up dividing opinions as CK Akonnor’s decision to play him out wide badly backfired. He was rarely involved in the game and was hooked off at half-time after a poor first-half performance.
For every patron of the Ghana Premier League, there is no doubt that Poku is a talented striker and playing out wide definitely limited his impact.