Ghana is through to the semi finals thanks to two goals from Wakaso. This was less than an impressive performance and on the balance of play, Cape Verde will feel they at least should have taken the game to extra time.
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First half
 

Ghana came into the game as favorites; the issue was how they would take the initiative and attack their opponents. The formations were as expected; 4-2-3-1 vs a 4-3-1-2. Asamoah played behind Gyan where as Mendez played the trequartista role in place of Platini.
Ghana bossed possession but mostly in their own half as Cape Verde chose to drop. Heldon, who was supposedly deployed to partner Tavares upfront, dropped deep down their right flank thus forming two backs of four transforming the 4-3-1-2 into a 4-4-1-1 system. This meant that during the defensive phase, they had the necessary width to cover shuttle across and also cover their fullbacks when attacked down the flanks thus overcoming the inherent weakness of the 4-3-1-2 formation.
 

Ghana’s play gravitated mostly down their right flank and their ball circulation wasn’t that good enabling their opponent time to double up down the flanks. Even though they had joy down the right flank, they failed to get in behind the defense and this led to their crosses being easily cleared. Several times they tried to play through the middle but found it difficult with balls being intercepted, Cape Verde’s numerical superioty in this area being a factor. Upon winning the ball Cape Verde’s ball forward were towards the flanks especially towards their left flank where Tavares had drifted towards. Asamoah, found it hard to shake off the marking of Varela dropping deed to get possession of the ball. It is surprising why his coach uses him this position knowing full well his attributes as a wingback. His presence down the left flank would have given Ghana greater attacking impetus down this flank thus balancing play between the two flanks.
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Second half:
 

The second half was all about free kicks and how Ghana’s performance in open play totally collapsed. After conceding a penalty which was Wasako converted, Cape Verde responded well and were by far the better team in the second half. They won no less that 7 free kicks around their final third, most of them well orchestrated but lacked the finishing touch. Ghana surrendered possession easily to their opponents, especially during goal kicks which their opponent won and also were quicker to the second ball. Its hard to understand why they didn’t try to continue playing out from the back as they had done in the first half. Going long may seem a good idea when under pressure but in reality you just present the opponents with more opportunities to attack you. Furthermore, with Cape Verde trying to get a goal back this would have drawn the opponents into their own half and the gap between the goalkeeper and defensive line could have been exploited. Therefore their inability to control the game was self inflicted rather than caused by their opponents. Tavares caused the Ghanaian back line a lot of trouble in the air, drawing fouls and also winning the aerial duals. This is what contributed to so many fouls being given away. During positive transition, Ghana did consolidate possession however; the pass forward was either misplaced or intercepted thus handing possession back to Cape Verde.
 

Ghana failed to impress and with the upcoming semifinal where they will still be considered the favourites, nothing short of a convincing win will convince skeptics of their championship credentials. Antunes has been excellent, perhaps the most daring of the coaches in this tournament. His ability to hide his system’s weakness shows a manager well versed in the application of football tactics.