Kudus to the rescue! Ghana steal vital World Cup win despite surrendering two-goal lead against South Korea

Mohammed Kudus struck twice to secure Ghana’s first win of the World Cup as they beat South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling encounter on Monday. 

​Salisu opened scoring before Kudus doubled leadQuick double from Cho pulled Korea levelKudus well placed to secure the winner

TELL ME MORE: Mohammed Salisu broke the deadlock in the Group H clash when a free-kick into the box landed perfectly for him to lash home and then Mohammed Kudus got on the end of a Jordan Ayew cross to nod in his team’s second. Korea fought back in the second half as Cho Gue-sung headed in twice in the space of three minutes, but Kudus popped up with the vital winner in the 68th minute.

THE MVP: Despite his team’s defeat, Cho was a bright spark for the Asian nation as he got on the end of two crosses to pull his side back into the game. He reacted quicker than Salisu to get on the end of Lee Kang-In’s ball in and diverted it home, and three minutes later he backed off of Gideon Mensah and rose high to put the ball beyond Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi. Cho also managed to completely outshine Korea’s poster boy Son Heung-min, who struggled to make an impact in the final third once again.

THE BIG LOSER: Kwon Chang-Hoon could do little to influence the game and it was no surprise to see him taken off just 12 minutes into the second half. The substitution proved to be the perfect decision as his replacement, Lee Kang-In, assisted South Korea’s first goal just a minute after coming off the bench.

MATCH IN THREE PHOTOS:

AS IT STANDS:

TeamPWDLGDPTSPortugal110013Ghana210103Uruguay101001South Korea2011-11

WHAT NEXT? Ghana will try to book their place in the next round when they go head-to-head with Uruguay on Friday, while South Korea must bounce back when they take on Portugal.

MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐⭐