Ghana played Austria in a friendly at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna on Friday evening and lost by a score of 5-1.
In the starting lineup given by Otto Addo to start the game, Lawrence Ati-Zigi was the goalkeeper; Alexander Djiku, Derrick Kohn, Caleb Yirenkyi, and Jonas Adjetey were in defence, while Jordan Ayew, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Antoine Semenyo, and Prince Adu Kwabena were the four offensive players; and in centre midfield were Thomas Partey and Kwasi Sibo.
Ghana started the game well as we had several opportunities to score; however, when the Austrians were awarded a penalty due to the ball touching Jonas Adjetey’s hand after Kevin Danso’s header, we lost momentum. The referee awarded a penalty to Austria for handball after Danso’s header made contact with Adjetey’s hand, and Marcel Sabitzer scored to make it 1-0 to Austria. Ghana then improved and played better until the end of the first half, but lacked urgency to score in the final third. Prince Kwabena Adu was able to elude the Austrian defence on a couple of occasions, but could not produce a finish dangerous enough for the Austrian goalkeeper.
Antoine Semenyo attempted to tie the game when he took a shot close to the goal, but it went high over the crossbar. In the 40th minute, Austria was stopped from moving ahead by two goals with a brilliant save from Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who was back in the post for the Black Stars. At halftime, the difference between the two teams was still a goal.
When Michael Gregoritsch scored off Sabitzer’s pass and extended Austria’s lead just six minutes into the second half, the difference grew to two goals. The home team scored again just seven minutes later when Posch was left alone at the far post and was able to finish from a cross. Abdul Fatawu Issahaku nearly cut into the deficit when he broke through with a solo run and beat two defenders, but couldn’t find the goal.
Both Marvin Senaya and Patric Pfeiffer made their debuts with the Black Stars in the 69th minute. In the 76th minute, Jordan Ayew scored a brilliant goal with an assist from Ibrahim Sulemana, who had come off the bench.
With Sabitzer delivering an assist to team-mate Carney Chukwuemeka by making an immediate return to help Austria extend their three-goal advantage right away. Substitute Kamaldeen Sulemana was close to scoring but hit the post an inch away with his effort. The final score was 5-1 for Ralf Rangnick’s team, who secured their victory within the 90 minutes and time added on in their match vs Gha at home.
This friendly match is part of the preparation for Ghana for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada & Mexico.
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