On the opening day, the Black Stars suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Portugal, while their Asian rivals impressively held Uruguay to a goalless draw.
Team News
South Korea
- Fans in South Korea were relieved to see Son Heung-min play against Uruguay despite recovering from an eye socket fracture by using a protective mask.
- On the other hand, fellow Premier League attacker Hwang Hee-chan, who came off the bench but did not see any action on Thursday, is nursing some hamstring pain and is a major doubt for the upcoming match.
- Bento has nothing else to worry about right now, so he should feel free to name the same starting eleven at the Education City Stadium with Hwang Ui-jo at the helm.
Ghana
- While Ghana’s Otto Addo’s defensive-minded lineup almost paid off in their matchup with Portugal, the Black Stars may switch to a more conventional 4-1-4-1 formation in this matchup.
- For Monday’s meeting, Addo should be preparing all 26 players. If the team switches formations, Mohammed Salisu’s starting spot could be in jeopardy as Bukari lobbies for his return in a more offensive formation.
- Andre Ayew beat out his brother Jordan to start against Portugal, and the Al-Sadd man’s goal in his most recent match should be enough to keep him in the starting lineup alongside Williams.
- Although Andre Ayew and right back Alidu Seidu trained separately from the rest of the team on Friday, there is no reason to believe that they won’t be ready to play on Monday.
Possible Lineup
South Korea; Seung-gyu; Moon-hwan; Min-jae; Young-gwon; Jin-su; Jung; In-beom; Na; Lee; Son; Ui-jo
Ghana; Partey, Abdul Samed; Bukari, Kudus, A. Ayew; Williams, Ati Zigi; Seidu, Amartey; Djiku, Baba; Partey;
Prediction Analysis
Although Portugal had no trouble cracking Ghana’s defense, Ghana showed plenty of attacking nous and shouldn’t have any trouble with this South Korea defense.
However, Bento’s squad showed their worth against Uruguay, and we can only imagine a close battle ending with the spoils shared as the battle for the top two spots comes down to the wire.
Our prediction is South Korea 2-1 Ghana