Black Satellites coach Desmond Ofei praised his team’s performance after their 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in the semifinals of the WAFU Zone B U-20 Championship on Sunday at Stade de Municipal.
Despite a challenging start, Ghana’s U-20 team managed to rally back, with an own goal from Issac Cisse and a strike from top scorer Jerry Afriyie securing their spot in the final.
The match began with Konan Loukou giving Ivory Coast the lead in the 18th minute.
Ofei noted the difficulties his team faced in overcoming the Ivorian threat.
“It was a difficult game, we didn’t start great. Ivory Coast is a good team and they had a plan,” he said.
“They had some changes that we didn’t expect, but in the end, we had to fight. Looking at all our games, it wasn’t easy and the goals we gave away too easily. But we came back very strong and we deserve this win for sure,” he added.
Ghana will now prepare to face Nigeria in the highly anticipated final on Thursday, October 31, at 15:00 GMT, at Stade de Kegue.
Additionally, the Black Satellites have qualified for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will serve as the African qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, with the top four semifinalists securing automatic qualification.
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