In the first part of our Ghana Report, we analysed the team’s attacking play against Mali and Qatar, before taking a look forward to their clashes with Sudan.

In friendly matches against Mali and Qatar, Ghana gave an initial glimpse into their defensive identity under C.K Akonnor. Whether lining up in a 1-4-1-4-1 or a 1-4-4-2, there was an overarching 1-4-4-2 influence to their pressing structures. 

Although the Black Stars were often a little disorganised (which is entirely unsurprising given the limited training time), they showed an intent to press higher up the field. However, this plan does place an even more stringent emphasis on organisation and discipline as well as on the importance of maintaining the intensity of the press. 

Ahead of upcoming AFCON 2022 qualifying matches against Sudan, it is worth analysing how the Black Stars approached their general defensive assignments against Mali and Qatar while assessing their successes and challenges.

4-4-2 press

With Ghana playing a 1-4-1-4-1 formation initially against Mali, the 1-4-4-2 press generally appeared whenever Thomas Partey pushed up alongside Jordan Ayew to lead the press. This generally occurred as the ball was worked across the field. Given both players’ defensive abilities and experience in teams that are extremely well-drilled defensively, it did make some sense to allow them to initiate the press. 

Behind them, a double pivot of Bernard Mensah and Alexander Djiku emerged.

Against Qatar, however, Akonnor used a 4-4-2 formation. This reduced the need for intra-phase and intra-sub-phase positional rotations which increased the overall cohesiveness of the defensive unit. The Ayew brothers led the press, with a compact 4-4 block behind.

In both matches, as the opponents’ organised attacking phase developed, the Ghana press had a tendency to become more man-orientated. This occurred when players related more closely to their nearest threat and follwoed them. It was not clear, however, if this was by design.

Issues vs Mali

The primary issues with the Black Stars’ press against Mali were the gaps that emerged in the midfield. These tended to appear when one of the No.8s (normally Partey) pushed up into the first line of defensive pressure. If Partey was beaten by the pass, a large space appeared in the half-space. In such situations, the winger on that side needed to tuck in and Djiku needed to push up and across from his single pivot position to form a double pivot. This type of coordination was lacking.

For the first goal, there were other issues in the coordination of the press. Both 8s were taken out of the play by their positioning. These were then further compounded by issues with the defensive line behind.

The defensive line also looked vulnerable on a few occasions. Structural issues were exacerbated by poor situational recognition. Players were not dropping off when there was a lack of high pressure and the compactness of the defensive line was also lacking at times. This placed defenders into conflict, whereas effective structures should reduce those conflict situations.

Even so, at times the press did lead to opportunities to create shots on goal. Although these were squandered by a lack of a clinical edge around the penalty area, the potential for the high-press to function as a playmaker is an attractive one, given the potential dearth of quality creators elsewhere in the team.

Overall, against Mali, Ghana’s pressing structures were compromised by the lack of coordination in the second and third lines. The second line (the midfield) was failing to shift in response to the actions of the first line whilst the third line (the defence) appeared to suffer from the lack of a line leader who could recognise threatening situations before they fully unfolded.

Easier vs Qatar

Qatar posed far less of a threat in attack than Mali. Furthermore, in starting with a 1-4-4-2 formation, Akonnor simplified the system for his players. The reason many international teams utilise a 1-4-4-2 system in defence is that players’ roles and responsibilities are clear and it can be particularly stout centrally.

The shift to the 1-4-4-2 formation led to a considerably more effective defensive performance. The team’s horizontal and vertical spatial distributions were superior to those seen against Mali, making it very difficult for an unambitious Qatar side to play through them. The pockets in between the lines were small and the Black Stars players aggressively closed them when a player was found within them.

Even so, there were still coordination issues (but again, this is not surprising). At times, it appeared to be either work-rate driven, or a result of players becoming fixated on the ball. Ghana let Qatar out of some bad situations by not being ruthless enough.

Furthermore, the recognition issues amongst the defensive line reared their head for the Qatar goal. The defence failed to identify the threatening situation unfolding, with a lack of pressure on the ball and threats in behind, to drop off accordingly. Additionally, their error was compounded by poor goalkeeper positioning.

Offensive-defensive transition style

Much like with their defensive-offensive transition (as touched on in our previous piece), the Black Stars lacked a clear identity in their offensive-defensive transitions. Often, the player or two in closest proximity would attempt to win the ball back quickly, whilst the rest of their teammates either watched or returned to their defensive shape. When the opponent was forced to pass backwards, other players would join the press.

The team’s offensive structures generally operated to limit the threat to them in such transition situations. This may have been due to a lack of ambition in these situations from their opponents. However there appears to be a need for greater cohesiveness in the team’s offensive-defensive transition. Given Ghana’s quality and footballing stature in comparison with the majority of their opponents, the inhibition of their opponents’ counter-attacking threat should be a priority.

Looking forward to Sudan

Akonnor’s plan to press high certainly seems a wise one moving forwards. It will force the opponent’s defenders to play under pressure, testing their ball-playing capabilities and willingness to take risks. If coordinated effectively (which will take time), the team will be a difficult one to play through. The press could also become an increasingly fruitful avenue for the creation of attacking opportunities.

With Thomas Partey absent, there are several inexperienced faces in central midfield, along with some experienced returnees. The cohesiveness of the second line will be a very important aspect of Ghana’s defensive solidity. Central midfield is a major part of that. They will need to protect the platform in front of the defence and aid the strikers in cutting off Sudan’s (likely) midfield trio.

Majeed Ashimeru, Mubarak Wakaso and Clifford Aboagye look unlikely to be involved in the first clash. Resultantly, a workmanlike duo is the most likely selection.

The pair of Emmanuel Lomotey and Afriyie Acquah appears the most likely combination at this stage. They offer defensive nous and aggressiveness which can complement the team’s high pressing style, with the latter also providing a more progressive presence. The second clash, away in Sudan, may (unusually for an away match in comparison to a home) feature a more creative midfield.

Furthermore, the team will need to address and seek to improve the situational recognition problems and spacing issues that plagued the defensive line in Akonnor’s first two clashes. The call-up of the veteran John Boye may be an attempt to identify a capable, communicative centre-back who can lead the defensive line. This could allow the likes of Nicholas Opoku, Joseph Aidoo and Alexander Djiku to gain more experience.

Working with the goalkeepers to develop their sweeping capabilities should improve the defensive system. Lawrence Ati-Zigi may well be the most natural sweeper-keeper in the Ghana set-up currently and could be worth giving a start in one of the matches, given the lack of training time available.

All that being said, Sudan should not pose a substantial attacking threat to the Black Stars. They managed an xG of 0.18 and 0.34 against South Africa and Tunisia respectively in their last two games (both away from home). They only entered their opponents’ penalty area on 8 occasions across both matches. The majority of their attacks went down the flanks – which Ghana can further influence through a compact shape. Provided the team is positionally disciplined, the Ghana goal should not be threatened substantially in either match. It will be in the attacking phases that the Black Stars will have to step up their game.