West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus suffered the wrath of the local media after his crucial penalty miss as Ghana lost 2-1 to Niger.
The 24-year-old won the spot-kick in the final minutes of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Monday [18 November] and stepped up to take it, only for his 96th-minute penalty to be saved by Mahamadou Dijbo.
Ghana remain at the bottom of Group F in AFCON qualifying, 11 points adrift from unbeaten group leaders Angola, and are now unable to progress the ACFON proper with Kudus receiving the brunt of the criticism.
Pulse [18 November] awarded him a joint-low 3/10 rating for his efforts, writing: “Kudus then missed the penalty spot in stoppage time when he was awarded a penalty after he was fouled.
“Throughout the 90 minutes, he held on to the ball far too long, slowing down the team’s attack on multiple occasions.
Ghana Soccernet [18 November] laid into the Hammers forward in their main talking points from the clash at the Accra Sports Ground as his miss rounded off a “disastrous campaign”, writing: “Mohammed Kudus had a chance to rescue a draw for Ghana deep into added time when he won a penalty after a foul in the box.
However, his attempt was saved by Niger’s goalkeeper, sealing Ghana’s 2-1 defeat. The miss was the ultimate frustration in what has been a miserable campaign for the Black Stars, where they failed to secure a single victory.
“With only three goals scored in six games, the team’s inability to finish matches with confidence became a key theme throughout the qualifiers, and Kudus’ penalty miss epitomised that struggle.
Mohammed Kudus is suffering a crisis of confidence for Ghana and West Ham United
While his international exploits ended in bitter fashion on Monday evening, Kudus mustn’t let this latest setback with the national side affect his impending return to West Ham.
The forward laid blame on his intense scrutiny with Ghana as reasoning for his explosive, violent conduct in the 4-1 loss against Tottenham, in which he is now serving an imposed five-match FA ban.
Kudus will likely be the scapegoat in his native Ghana for the AFCON failures; the supporters could be heard jeering the forward as he approached to take the decisive spot-kick in an apparent counter-productive display of frustration.
However, Julen Lopetegui is far from the most liked man in East London and is fighting to save his future at the Hammers, with the board eager to see results improve after the international break [BBC Sport].
Therefore, the Spaniard must help the under-fire Kudus recapture his best form at the London Stadium. His two goal contributions this year are far below the standard he set in his maiden year in the Premier League.
Kudus will return to the West Ham fold for the clash against Leicester City on 3 December. Lopetegui must navigate past Newcastle United and Arsenal before then, but with Lucas Paqueta set to miss Kudus’ return [The Standard], it is paramount that he overcomes his international woes and hits the ground running in East London.
