Top Stories

Ghana overwhelm Bradley’s Egypt in lopsided first leg

Asamoah Gyan Ghana (Getty Images)

By KEVIN KOCZWARA

Bob Bradley’s magical journey as head coach of the Egyptian national team looks like it could be coming to an end without fulfilling the African country’s dream of reaching the World Cup.

Ghana dealt Egypt’s quest of reaching the 2014 tournament in Brazil a serious blow on Tuesday with an overwhelming 6-1 victory in the first World Cup qualifier of their two-legged play-off. Asamoah Gyan, a player Bradley is familiar with, helped lead the way for the Black Stars by scoring a brace in front of the delighted crowd at Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana.

Gyan opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a powerful strike off the far post and the dominant Ghanaians extended their lead thanks to a Wael Gomaa own goal in the 22nd minute. Egypt pulled one back in the 41st minute but they conceded again before the intermission, giving Ghana a two-goal lead that would only grow in the second half.

Egypt got off to a nightmare start, falling behind 2-0 before the half-hour mark. Bradley’s side refused to lie down, however, and it got what seemed at the time like an important away goal in the 41st minute through a Mohammed Aboutrika penalty kick.

It took only two minutes for Ghana to completely regain control of the match thanks to a header from Abdul Majeed Waris following a Sulley Muntari cross that made the scoreline 3-1 at halftime. The Pharaohs never recovered.

Gyan extended Ghana’s lead to three goals in the 54th minute before Muntari added a goal from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute. Christian Atsu capped the scoring in the 89th minute to further dash Egypt’s hopes.

Bradley, who was head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team when they were eliminated from the 2010 World Cup by Ghana, seemed to be leading Egypt on an improbable run to next summer’s tournament prior to Tuesday. The African country was thrown into turmoil during the Arab Spring and then there was the Port Said Stadium riot, where more than 70 people were killed.

Security concerns have forced Bradley’s team to play home games behind closed doors and the Egyptian league to be suspended, but none of that seemed to deter the Egyptians as they looked to make it to their first World Cup since 1990. Egypt took Group G with ease in the second round of Confederation of African Football qualifying and were the only undefeated team remaining in this World Cup cycle in the entire world before suffering Tuesday’s lopsided defeat.

Overcoming a five-goal deficit at home will be a tall order for Egypt, but that is what they will try to do when they host the second leg of the play-off on Nov. 19.

—–

What do you think of Egypt’s 6-1 loss to Ghana? Impressed by the Black Stars’ dominant performance? Do you see Egypt having any chance at pull off the improbable five-goal comeback in November?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ghana has some amazing athletes. Just note their U-20 team this summer past. US Soccer needs a little innoculation given our history against their fine national program…….Klinsi should bring in Freddy “Tema” Adu as an offense oriented super-sub ~

    Egypt had some fine passing moments in attack but I suppose that spread them thin in back…..wish they could have held the score down to set up their return leg in Cairo. Gonna look forward to Ghana games in Brazil all the same ~

    Reply
  2. I know the numbers, history, and common sense all say this is not going to happen, but if Egypt beats Ghana 5-0 in Cairo, it will be the greatest sports story in our lifetime. You can bet all the documentarians chasing this story our praying for such an end. Hope the Egyptians keep their heads up and play with fire at home. In any case, the Sweatpant Sphynx has done this country proud, even if he pushed the wrong buttons yesterday.

    Reply
  3. Brazil is for Africa and the new world football order ll be formed in Brazil lead by an African team winning the elusive WC for the first time!!

    Reply
  4. Lol, it’s ok. Whether its Bradley or prior USMNT regimes, we clearly have problems in “scounting” Ghana… I think they’re still looking for the scouting report from 2006…

    Reply
    • Nah, not really. I remember reading an interview/report with Glen Myernick (the USNT Assistant under Arena who scouted the US opponents that year). The report was published after the WC (b/c it involved stuff that Myernick didn’t want to say publicly prior to the cup. The paraphrase was this: the US got the worst draw it could from the order. It wanted to play Czech Republic last of the 3 matches. Why? Bc the team had no depth and had injury issues and would be weaker in game 3 than in game 1. The US wanted to play Ghana in game 1 and not game 3. Why? B/c Ghana’s speed and strength would create issues for the US but they had spent no time together as a team. In game 1 they’d be weak and not very cohesive. But in game 3 they’d have had 2 matches to coalesce and they’d be a real mismatch for the US in game 3.

      Reply
  5. Am not a comedian and is not a joke too!! Sometimes African teams are looked down by other teams or countries and that’s the main reason u called me a joke because I said Ghana is coming to Brazil to win the WC and u find it hard to believe till it happens! We have a solid team and any team underrates us on their own peril!! We mean business this time and just remember we were just two steps away from the finals in south africa in only our two appearance at the WC and in Brazil,we are coming with experience and firepower!!! Watch this space! Is all over for Egypt as we go to Cairo to beat them again!!! Bradley has done wonderfully well with the Egyptians but Ghana knows his number and we can do anything we want with it!!!

    Reply
  6. @ Felix…. We are world beaters my friend!!! Egypt didn’t make us looks like one!! Egypt is a strong team mixed with experienced old guards and new blood but Ghana wanted to prove to them that we are in for business and wants to go to Brazil more than them!! Listen mate,u can beat Ghana in African tournaments but when it comes to WC qualifications, we are second to none!!! All our bogey sides has been blown apart in WC qualifications because we have talent laden team which on a good day can beat any team under the planet!! Egypt was no match for us and Bradley as usual wanted to overpower the powerful Ghanaian midfield which backfire!!! We contolled the match right from the start to end and we override the Egyptians like a bunch of amateurs and remember this is a Ghana team without Kevin prince boateng,boye,mensah etc and this is a warning to each and sundry that Ghana is the team to beat in Brazil!! We mean business and we have the winningmentality to go further in bBrazil!!!

    Reply
  7. Of he did a wonderfully job till he meet ghana!!! He has done well against the minnows in his group but when a truly talented Ghanaian side was presented to him,he has failed woefully and this is the third times he has lost to Ghana!!! He got beaten by Ghana in south africa,got beaten by Ghana this year in Dubai and he has lost terribly to ghana again which is by far the worst defeat in Egyptian history!!! He is good but when u meet ghana in Kumasi baba yara stadium,no matter who u are,u ll fall!!! Ghana the only Brazil of African football!! Ghana,the pacesetters!!

    Reply
  8. I’m not saying this is the reason, but one thing I saw from watching the game is that Bradley played a lot of veterans, older guys who play in the Egyptian league that’s in hiatus, especially the backline which is virtually all from Al-Ahly (outside of the RB who plays in England I believe).
    To start the game off, Ghana completely overwhelmed them in energy, power and pace. I wonder if he would have used some of his limited corps of players plying their trade in other leagues if they would have been better able to overcome.
    The safe move was to go with the veterans that have played in all the WCQs and AFCONs, and is a traditional Bradley move, but perhaps (with obvious hindsight) he should have gone with players from overseas, who are in form.
    Ghana is obviously a strong team, but Egypt made them look like absolute world beaters today.

    Reply
  9. Reports are out that Bob has already been fired. If that’s the case I don’t really know how to take it. On one hand when you consider that Egypt’s run is done and he had one meaningless game left it’s not that big of a deal but it bothers me that they had to rush to fire him and not let him finish it out? Bradley had hundreds of reasons to bail on Egypt early but he didn’t, it’s a little disappointing Egypt couldn’t handle themselves the same way. Hopefully Bob can get a job in Europe somewhere.

    Reply
  10. An American can definately coach in Europe at a high level however I doubt it will be Bradley or Bruce Arena. Someone who’s played at a high level such as Cherundolo, Friedel or Dempsey could certainly get some assistant coaching job at some level in Europe when they retire. Then work their way up. However, they usually decide to come back to America to play/coach in MLS rather then give European coaching a shot.

    Reply
  11. We are coming to Brazil with more tradition African vuvuzulas and we ll blow ears in brazil both Europeans,Americans and Brazilians!!! Prepared and train your European and american ears well because we are coming to blow vuvuzulaz till the walls in the stadium collapses!!!! Vivaaaaaaa the black stars revolution on Brazil!!! Viva African football revolution in Brazil!!

    Reply
  12. Viva the revolution and what I meant is that Ghana has started the revolution already!!! We are coming to Brazil to win the WC for the first time for Africa!!!

    Reply
  13. There was just so little quality on the backline and that you can’t really blame him for (well unless he’s got better players stowed away that he’s ignoring which wouldn’t be completely unlike Bob). 1st and 2nd goals, left centerback and leftback both whiff stepping up into challenges and get outpaced heading back. 3rd and 4th goals are lapses in marking. I don’t know what Bob would really do on those other than say don’t let it happen again.
    The 5th goal despite it being the lightest probably deserves the most criticism in terms of strategy because by that point Egypt had proven it couldn’t play out of the back and through the midfield. They still get caught passing it again along the backline through heavy pressure, and, even though I thought the keeper got it clean, ya can’t play that naive. They’ve got real talent up front for Egypt that seemed quite comfortable in the air with the wingers in support. If there was any time to turn into Sunderland/Irish football, this seemed like it to me.
    The 6th was just Ghana running rampant.

    Reply
  14. Grant Wahl says, “American pharaoh– Bob Bradley and the Egyptian Soccer Team: the Inside Story.” Ahahahaha! Yeah right pal! Ghana 6, Egypt 1. What was Bradley doing, going for the win? It’s a home-&-away, you keep men behind the ball idiot! Bradley’s just another incompetent Ivy League grad running things into the ground. He’s paid $500,000 a year, for what? It’s corruption, some kind of kick back through an Ivy League connection. Bradley’s almost as bad of a coach as Wahl is at journalism, or speaking Spanish. As far as catastrophes caused by Ivy Leaguers, this one’s up there with the Iraq War and Lehman brothers. George W. Bush, Ivy League grad! All those investment bankers who created the derivatives and credit default swaps that sank the economy, who had to be bailed out and given welfare, Ivy Leaguers 100%! Grant Wahl & Bob Bradley, Ivy League all the way!! Hey look on the bright side, at least we won’t have to read any more incoherent, silly quotes from Bob Bradley’s and Wahl’s college religious studies professor in SI anymore! Hahahaha! “Ivy Leaguers, bringing the world together (and making a bundle for themselves)!” Well Bob Bradley certainly united Egypt didn’t he! Muslim Brothers, Islamists, secularists, democrats, socialists, progressives, they all agree! FIRE BOB BRADLEY!!!!!!!!! Laugh at Grant Walh… “Duh My 3 Thoughts on Egypt 1, Ghana 6”: 1) Doy 2) Doy 3) Doy!!

    Reply
    • Lol after reading this comment, I genuinely feel sorry for the person who wrote it…you actually got on the Internet and took time to type that whole thing up so people could read it…smh that’s pathetic.

      Reply
    • I’m not sure Bob Bradley given a coaching post due to Ivy league connections (allegedly) and then not qualifying said team for the WC should be compared to the incredibly awful events you attribute to the Ivy League cabal that Alex Jones has taught you about.

      Reply
  15. I’m having deja vu to several times when he was coach of the US team and they were way down at the half only to come back. It looks bad, but when Bradley is coach anything can happen.

    Reply
  16. I just want to pre-empt anyone who wants to say Bob Bradley is “poor tactically”. This is a complexity useless statement, so please don’t use it. Figure out what specifically you didn’t like about his coaching (roster choices, formations, counter attacking, etc) and then post that specifically.
    “Tactics” is the most overused, worthless word in soccer. No one really knows what they mean when they say it, they just think they sound smart when they do.

    Even the most brilliant “tactics” of all time (see Greece Euro 04 defense) are a specific, tangible aspect of soccer, that can be called by name, not this amorphous “tactics”

    Reply
    • There’s no point. At most people will say they don’t like his bunkering/counterattacking style. As if he has a vast wealth of options at his disposal due to the infinite quality of the talent pools he has to choose from, but selects the most dour approach because he hates the game. Or something.

      Reply
    • Ok, traditionally his player choices are questionable. Ex. Rico Clark.

      His midfield shapes always puzzle me. Ex. Bx midfield mania of his Metro Stars days.

      His tems play a bland style. This is due to “the players he has”, yes, BUT he also does a poor job selecting players (see Rico Clark)

      His track suits are from 1996.

      Honestly, people love Bob, but he’s the epitome of mediocre.

      Reply
  17. Horrible match to watch for those of us hoping for a good result for Egypt. Ghana could have been up 3-0 in the first five minutes and could easily have scored 10 on the night. Egypt’s back four was horrendous and their midfield was overrun for much of the match. I don’t think Bradley’s tactics had much to do with the loss, Even in some of its group wins you could see Egypt’s defense was suspect and that was against weaker competition. Ghana was just miles ahead in the quality level of players. Ghana was very impressive going forward, but before declaring them World Cup winners I would like to see how they fare against better competition.

    Reply
  18. I’m not really sure what people expect from Bradley. It’s not like he has a lot of talent to work with.
    Just like with the US, he does what he can with the level of talent he has at his disposal.
    Tactics are not really something you can work at if you don’t have players that can string at least three consecutive passes. Unless your tactic is to bunker and counter-attack.

    Reply
  19. Well, unfortunately they ran into that wall called Ghana, a team with better talent, resources, etc. Much respect for Bob Bradley for the incredible job he did with the situation at hand. Hilarious seeing the people who are already bashing him even though what he did with Egypt, amid the chaos and violence, was nothing short of a miracle.

    Reply
      • Saying someone is or isn’t tactically is the most vague, cop-out statement ever. It’s a easy way to criticize someone, without ever having to back it up.

        What tactics did Bradley employ, or shouldn’t have employed? His formations? His substitutions? His offsides trap? His line of pressure? I mean, really, give something beyond “tactics”.

      • I agree, James. There are only so many formations a team can employ. Managers are primarily made or unmade by their ability to introduce a system, get players to buy in, manage personalities, generate self-belief, use situational tactics and employ adjustments, analyze player ability & opponent strengths/weaknesses and get players to play together. Ultimately, if a team doesn’t have the stuff, tactics matter little, unless you want to play 10 men behind the ball and play not to lose.

        Bob has done a fine job with Egypt and it’s amazing they have done as well as they have.

    • No taking away the fact that he took over a tough situation in a tough climate. I jus think that he’s tactically poor & not worthy of all the praise he gets.

      Reply
      • He wasn’t being praised for his tactical regimen, but for his ability to stand united and firm with his team in a close to impossible situation which would make most coaches quit and run.

      • You keep saying his tactics are poor but then continuuously fail to elaborate or give examples. Please, oh tactician of yore, help us understand why you keep saying this.

      • His formations are historically questionable (he loves that box midfield) & he often makes substitutions too late in the game.

        Finally, his player selection is historically qustionable (Rico Clark, that would be you.)

        How about this ..can someone tell me why they LOVE the legend of Bob other than because they think they’re supposed to?

    • I don’t think anyone is hoping the man fails. Some of just don’t get why he is so loved.

      His blind devotion to Rico Clark?

      His track suits?

      His demeanor?

      The box midfield?

      What is it that makes grown men swoon over the Legend of Bob?

      Reply
  20. I have no doubt that Bob is professional in his demeanor & a hard worker, but I have no idea what he has done as a coach, save 1998, that makes people love him so much. He is very unimaginative tactically and his teams always fall short.

    Reply
    • I don’t love him as a coach but he’s one helluva human being. And as a coach, he led the US to the Gold Cup win in 2007, second place in Confederations Cup in 2009 (beating Spain along the way), first place in hex in 2009, and first place in the group at WC-2010. And leading Egypt to the first place in its group is nothing to sneeze at.

      Reply
      • +1 Bradley’s record speaks for itself. Just look at what he accomplished with the level of talent that was available to him. Yes, it’s easy to point out his mistakes, but what struck me about him was his willingness to recognize his mistakes and adjust on the fly. Let’s also not forget that tactically, he found a way to beat Spain at Confed Cup when no when else could. And that blueprint was copied by Switzerland in WC 2010 who were the only team to beat them there. I also think if Michael Bradley doesn’t get the bogus red card disqualifying him from playing in the final, the US wins the Confed. Cup.

    • Again, your last sentence is basically saying you don’t like him, don’t know why exactly, but it’s probably on this notion of tactics, that somehow he’s not sophisticated enough.

      Always falls short of expectations?? What on earth are you talking about? Was the US expected to win it’s group stage last WQ? No. Was the US expected to make it to the semi’s of the Confederations Cup? No. Were they expected to beat Spain? No. Were they expected to give Brazil an extremely difficult game in the finals? No.

      Was the US expected to win CONCACAF qualifying last WQ cycle? Maybe. But coming in a close second to Mexico is no shame. Was the US expected to win the Gold Cup with a B team? Probably, but again, losing with a B team to a good Mexico team isn’t exactly shameful. Was the US Expected to beat Ghana in the last WQ? Only in the US. The US just didn’t stack up to Ghana, and despite that, it was a heck of a game that we could have pulled out. Not some shameful loss.

      Just say you don’t like the guy. That’s fine, he rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Stop just making stuff up about why he’s a bad coach, or blaming his “tactics”

      Reply
  21. Sad day. Sad day. Now more than ever, any team playing against Ghana is my team.

    Oh well, whatever doesn’t kill you…

    Reply
      • I know they’re good. That’s part of why I dislike them. I don’t mind a grind-it-out, hustle loss. And I don’t mind being out-finessed. But their combination of skill, speed, smugness, and their masterful execution of strategic falling on the ground in order to disrupt any opposing team momentum make them worse than hacks. At least hacks are honest. Couple that with their record of being American WC kryptonite, and they officially become my most scorned international side.

      • Smugness? Hacks? Look, I was as crushed as anyone by their two defeats of the US and the thrashing today, but there’s no reason to hate on them. They’re a damn fine team and they do the sport proud.

      • I did not call them hacks. They are not hacks. I said they are very talented dishonest players. They have tremendous talent. But they feign and whine and try use gamesmanship and waste time when they could probably succeed on their quality alone. I HATE that. I find them very similar to Portugal, who simultaneously impress and disgust me, with the exception that we beat Portugal, and Ghana owns us. As as far as smugness, go back to 2010 and watch the looks on the Black Stars faces during their super slo-mo substitutions, or when Inkoom rolls around on the ground for absolutely no reason in stoppage time.

  22. This is disappointing on many levels. Ghana is certainly a strong squad (you only need to look at the club pedigree of their players) and I don’t think it surprises anyone that they won, but the goal differential is tough to swallow. Moreover, everyone loves the story behind the team and I think it’s hard to not find yourself rooting for them. At the very least, the team should hold their head high for making it this far and through so much adversity, and all american fans should be very proud of Senior Bradley for the way he’s conducted himself with such class and professionalism. The scoreline might not show it, but this moment is one of US Soccer coaching’s finest hours.

    Hopefully Egypt will find a way to rally and at least make the second leg interesting. 6 goals is a big ask though.

    Reply
    • what you are people smoking ? bradley gave absolutely nothing to Egypt that they did not already have. Egypt was a top team in African team way before he came to manage them. Plus, they came through an easy group to reach the play offs. You are giving way too much underserved credit for Bob bradley. No other african team would lose by that margin in ghana.

      Reply
  23. Sorry Americans and Bob Bradley because the one and only Brazil of African football called the mighty black stars of Africa wanna come to Brazil and fulfil the prophesy of world Pele when he said that an African team will one day win the worldcup but what he didn’t know is that historic feat ll be right infront of Brazilian fans!!! We want to win the WC in Brazil and we solid mighty squad that can demolish any team on the planet!!! This is a Ghana side without kpb,vorsah,mensah,boye etc and we still have managed to blown apart Egypt into bits!!! Watch the match and u ll see the wonderful free flowing swag of the almighty black stars and we ll surely make amends in Brazil!! We have the fortitude and the winning mentality to do well in Brazil and if there is a team that the world should watch out for in Brazil,is definitely the ONLY BLACK STARS OF AFRICA!!!! VUVA THE REVOLUTION!!!

    Reply
  24. Maybe it’s not entirely fair–but this probably ends any hope of Bradley being taken seriously as a coach in Europe.

    If they keep the aggregate goal differential below 8 I will be shocked.

    Reply
    • Yeah, that guy who coached Barcelona when they got throttled by Bayern in the Champions League last year is now cleaning the grease traps at a McDonald to make ends meet. What was his name again?

      Reply
      • His name is Tito Vilanova and he is no longer a professional soccer coach because he has aggressive cancer that kept him out of the squad half the season–which was his second professional coaching job and widely regarded as a very poor choice.

        He was a stop-gap coach for the club after Pep left.

        So not a great example. And also not really close to being similar.
        Bob Bradley has never coached outside of the United States. And he’s American. A wayward African team gave him a chance after the USA performed okay in the World Cup.

        He was under a huge spotlight–and his reward for success would probably have been a Championship team if he was lucky. No team in Spain, Germany or France would hire him. Not compatible styles.

        Italy for sure. And lower division English teams.

        If you don’t have pedigree–results matter double.

      • My point was that were it not for his health problems, Tito would still be the coach today. One bad loss does not spoil an otherwise good body of work. With Bob, this is also true. He has a less talented team than Ghana and players in a league that has seen play suspended for lengthy periods of time due to civil strife. He has done a great job and this loss does nothing to detract from his record of achievement.

      • Not sure about that, sir.

        Tito was on the chopping block for a disastrous season that involved a lot of issues like not playing Thiago enough to raise his buyout–overplaying Messi and Xavi–underplaying Fabregas.

        He had destroyed that locker room.

    • Winning this series certainly would have helped his case to coach in Europe, but losing it, even by an embarrassing margin, by no means disqualifies him from future European coaching. His work in Egypt has still been tremendous. I mean really, can any coach in the premier league say with a straight face that they face similar pressure and adversity?

      Furthermore, Ghana is a really good team. On paper they were expected to win this game, but a lot of people were hopeful Egypt might pull out an inspired win.

      I realize you’re not saying this in your post, but it’s ridiculous for people to try and point at his legacy as a failure in Egypt because of this.

      Reply
      • Americans might not see it as such–but Europeans will certainly see it as such.

        Europeans in the footballing world are very wary of Americans. They don’t think Americans play the right way. They don’t respect the lack of technical ability and general lack of tactical awareness.

        Americans are on thin ice–always.

        European coaching is about results. Period. Coaches are canned constantly for slipping up. There is no moral victory.

        And to be honest–the danger Bob Bradley faces as a coach is extreme. And he’s a brave man no doubt. It is also completely irrelevant to coaching elsewhere. Nobody is going to say oh look he was brave enough to coach there, let’s hire him! They will say, when push came to shove he was blown out in the most embarrassing fashion.

        They may think he’s a brave, good person, but they’ll disregard him as a coach.

        Like I said–it might not be fair, but that’s what Americans face outside the USA.

Leave a Reply to selfmade Cancel reply