Ghana were the only African side to win their final friendly on Tuesday before they name their provisional squad for the 2022 World Cup to be held in Qatar in November.
The Black Stars defeated South American nation Nicaragua 1-0 on Tuesday night in the Spanish city of Lorca as the continent’s five sides wrapped up their preparations.
All the five African countries to play in Qatar took advantage of this week’s international break to engage in friendlies three weeks before they name their provisional squads.
Senegal were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow World Cup-bound Iran in Austria, Morocco played out to a goalless draw with Paraguay’s while Cameroon and Tunisia lost their matches.
The Carthage Eagles were handed a 5-1 defeat by five-time world champions Brazil while the Indomitable suffered a 1-0 narrow defeat to South Korea.
The highlight of Tuesday’s game belonged to talented teenage midfielder Abdul Fatawu Issahaku who curled in from the edge of the box in the 34th minute to give Ghana the victory over the South Americans.
The Black Stars, who changed several players from Friday’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil, could have won the game by a wider margin but their attackers could not convert the several scoring opportunities they created in the second-half.
The two matches, over the past week for the Black Stars, have been important as they prepared to take on Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay in Group H at the World Cup.
An own goal by Morteza Pouraliganji gave Senegal the lead in their match against Iran but Sardar Azmoun restored parity moments later.
The African champions defeated Bolivia 2-0 a few days ago and the two matches during the international break has given coach Aliou Cisse the best chance to observe his players.
The two matches have also served their purpose for Senegal who will face hosts Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands in Group A of the World Cup.
Morocco managed to hold Paraguay in Spain to a draw, giving new coach Walid Regragui a good start in his tenure as Atlas Lions coach, having defeated Chile 2-0 a few days ago.
Cameroon ended their international break with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea to make it two defeats in two matches.
England-based Son Heung-min scored the only goal in the first-half in Seoul on Tuesday to give coach Rigobert Song a rude awakening ahead of the finals in Qatar.
The Indomitable Lions, the first African side to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, will play Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland in Group G of the global tournament.
Tunisia know they have more work to do before they kick off their World Cup campaign after they were hammered 5-1 by five-time champions Brazil in France on Tuesday.
The Carthage Eagles will play France, Australia and Denmark in Group D of the World Cup.
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