English-born Ghanaian forward Eddie Nketiah scored twice, and FA Cup hero Eberechi Eze was also on target as Crystal Palace continued their celebrations from winning their first major trophy at the weekend by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-2 at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles stunned Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday to win the FA Cup, and that moment was celebrated by the fans in the build-up to this fixture, with not even falling behind when Emmanuel Agbadou headed in spoiling the party mood.
And Palace turned the game on its head thanks to two Nketiah goals in five first-half minutes.
The former Arsenal forward equalised with a neat driven finish from Romain Esse's cutback before turning in Ismaila Sarr's cross.
Ben Chilwell got Palace's third in the second half when his free kick took a wicked deflection off Agbadou's head.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, who provided the assist for Agbadou's opener, pulled it back to 3-2 with a header, but Eze came off the bench to follow up his FA Cup winner with Palace's fourth to wrap up the three points.
The win means Palace have surpassed 50 points this season, the first time they have done that since the 1991-92 campaign, when they amassed 57 points.
Eddie Nketiah set to earn his first Ghana call-up for summer friendlies
Despite making his debut for the Three Lions of England in a 1-0 win over Australia in an international friendly in August 2023, he is eligible to represent Ghana at the international stage.
Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Henry Asante Twum, says the Unity Cup will provide Black Stars coach Otto Addo the opportunity to beef up his team with new players.
The Black Stars of Ghana, Super Eagles of Nigeria, Reggae Boys of Jamaica and Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago will compete in the 2025 edition of the international football tournament.
Coach Otto Addo kept faith with the majority of the regular stars for last month’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chad and Madagascar.
The win against Chad and Madagascar helped Ghana to extend their lead at the top of Group I to 15 points, three above second-placed Comoros.
However, speaking to Kumasi-based Akoma FM, Asante Twum hinted that there will be an inclusion of fresh legs in the squad for the Unity Cup.
“There will be some fresh additions while keeping the core of the team,” Asante Twum said. “Coach Addo sees this as an opportunity to test new players ahead of more competitive fixtures,” the GFA Comms director said.
Recently, Eddie Nketiah made known his intention to play for the Black Stars in an interview after he had previously shown no interest in switching his international allegiance in representing Ghana.
“When I was younger, representing England was a natural choice after progressing through the youth system. However, if Ghana invites me, I will gladly accept,” Nketiah stated in a recent interview with The Beautiful Game podcast.
Born in Lewisham – southeast London – to Ghanaian parents, Nketiah’s decision to represent the West African giants was met with enthusiasm by many Ghanaian fans anxious to see new attacking lads in the national team setup.
By: Gideon Kofi Nyamekye & Pascal Amoah
