Ghana, Chile play to 1-1 tie at PPL Park

Despite playing the last 20 minutes a man down, Chile rallied to a 1-1 tie with Ghana at a rain-soaked but festive PPL Park.

Matías Fernández equalized for Chile from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, canceling out a 42nd-minute goal for Ghana by Richard Mpong.

Mpong's strike was beautifully set up by a low cross from Sulley Muntari. The AC Milan star swerved a pass through the box to an open Mpong, who calmly slotted the ball past Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

For a while, it looked like an under-strength Ghana squad would pull off the upset of one of South America's most dynamic teams. But their hopes were dashed when Chile star forward Alexis Sánchez was felled in the box after retrieving a rebound of a blocked Fernández shot.

The game was quite chippy, but it was also quite open. Both teams created good chances in both halves.

Below, you can read my running Twitter commentary from the evening. I'll be back later with a video that will include some game highlights.

Ghana (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Adam Kwarasey (Strømsgodset/Norway)
Defenders: John Pantsil (captain, Leicester City/England), Masahudu Alhassan (Genoa/Italy), John Boye (Rennes/France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian/France)
Midfielders: Anthony Annan (Vitesse Arnhem/Netherlands), Derek Boateng (Dnipro/Ukraine), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese/Italy), Sulley Muntari (AC Milan/Italy) 
Forwards: Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire/USA), Emmanuel Baffour (New Edubiase United/Ghana)

Chile (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Claudio Bravo (captain, Real Sociedad/Spain)
Defenders: Osvaldo González (Universidad de Chile/Chile), Marcos González (Flamengo/Brazil), José Rojas (Universidad de Chile/Chile)
Midfielders: Charles Aránguiz (Universidad de Chile/Chile), Gary Medel (Sevilla/Spain), Marcelo Díaz (Universidad de Chile/Chile), Matías Campos Toro (Universidad Católica/Chile), Matías Fernández (Sporting Lisboa/Portugal)
Forwards: Alexis Sánchez (Barcelona/Spain), Humberto Suazo (Monterrey/Mexico)