Mohammed Kudus believes he operates on the same level as Neymar. According to the precocious Ajax youngster, the only difference between them is the Brazilian’s sky-high profile.
After scoring twice to settle a see-saw encounter with the Taegeuk Warriors, more observers will surely start to believe the hype.
Everton boss Frank Lampard is an admirer and thought he could prise the 22-year-old out of the Amsterdam club after the striker fell out with the hierarchy this summer. That, surely, was the Toffees’ loss as he expertly glanced home one header and provided the match-winner against Paulo Bento’s side who can feel hard done by.
Black Stars’ chief Otto Addo said: “He contributed so much to our win - he’s a great player although he’s very young and has a lot to learn.
“He’s fast, good in one-on-ones, intelligent but he has to work more defensively.
“I’ve known him for the past six or seven years since he arrived at Nordsjaelland in their ‘Right to dream’ academy. On and off the pitch, he’s an extraordinary character.”
This was a firecracker of a group game, with both sides clearly fancying their chances of the win that would put them in a strong position to qualify.
It was Ghana who struck first. Jordan Ayew’s inswinging 24th-minute free-kick from the left was deep into South Korean territory. Kim Minjae’s weak glancing header failed to clear the danger and Mohammed Salisu gleefully pounced. Ten minutes later and the same provider was at it again. This time, he delivered a lovely cross and Kudus did the rest.
At the halfway point, it looked a long way back for Paulo Bento’s side. Two goals in three minutes changed the complexion of the game entirely.
Guesung Cho scored two headers - the latter of which saw the Education City stadium erupt.
But then Kudus struck again. Left-back Gideon Mensah showed great energy to provide the overlap. Inaki Williams missed the pull-back. Kudus steadied himself before side-footing into the bottom corner.
Korea, wounded, charged around like men possessed. Premier League referee Anthony Taylor added ten minutes’ extra time.
But he was surrounded at the final whistle by furious South Korea boss Bento, who complained that he finished the game while his side had the chance to equalise from a corner.
Bento will now sit out the final group game against his native Portugal.
His assistant, Sergio Costa, said: “In the first half, they let a similar situation be played and then, in the second, when we had a corner, the referee took the opportunity away from us.
“I was nearby. Paulo said nothing that was inappropriate. I think it was a lack of fairness.”
