Ghana’s U-20 women’s football team, the Black Princesses, have secured their spot in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a stunning 5-1 victory over Senegal in the second leg of the final round qualifier in Kumasi on Sunday.
The Black Princesses, who had won the first leg 2-0 in Senegal, showed no mercy to their opponents as they scored five goals in front of their home fans at the Baba Yara Stadium.
The Senegalese team had taken an early lead in the fourth minute from a corner kick, but Ghana responded with a flurry of goals from Maafia Nyame, Beline Nyarko, Tracey Twum, and Salamatu Abdulai.
Nyame equalized for Ghana in the 18th minute with a header, before Nyarko put the hosts ahead in the 23rd minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Twum, who had scored a brace in the first leg, added a third goal for Ghana from the penalty spot in the 67th minute after Abdulai was fouled in the box.
Nyarko scored her second goal of the game in the 72nd minute with a sublime lob over the Senegalese goalkeeper, before Abdulai completed the rout in the 78th minute with a tap-in from a cross by Helen Alormenu.
The Black Princesses thus qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on a 7-1 aggregate score, making it their seventh consecutive appearance in the global tournament.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to take place in Colombia later this year, featuring 16 teams from six confederations.
Ghana will be hoping to improve on their previous performances in the competition, where they have never gone past the quarter-finals.
The Black Princesses are one of the four African representatives in the tournament, along with Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa.
The other qualified teams are Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, England, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, China PR, New Zealand, and the hosts Colombia.
Ghana’s coach, Yussif Basigi, expressed his delight at the qualification and praised his players for their determination and resilience.
“I am very happy and proud of the girls. They played very well and showed that they were ready for the World Cup. We have been working hard for this and we are grateful to God for making it possible,” he said.
He also thanked the Ghana Football Association, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the fans, and the media for their support and encouragement.
“We are grateful to the GFA, the ministry, the fans, and the media for their support. We hope they will continue to support us as we prepare for the World Cup. We want to make Ghana proud and we need their prayers and backing,” he added.
The Black Princesses will now shift their focus to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they will face Rwanda in the first round of the qualifiers in September.
They will also participate in the Women’s FA Cup, where they have been drawn against Hasaacas Ladies in the round of 32.
The Black Princesses are confident that they can achieve more success in the upcoming tournaments and inspire the next generation of female footballers in Ghana.
“We are not satisfied with just qualifying for the World Cup. We want to do more and win more trophies. We want to inspire the young girls in Ghana to play football and follow their dreams. We believe that nothing is impossible with hard work and faith,” Nyarko, who was named the player of the match, said.
Source: Ghana Football Association
