Black Princesses keep World Cup hopes alive

The national U20 Women’s Football Team has travelled to South Africa to secure victory and advance to the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers.

The Black Princesses left Ghana desperately needing a win to progress after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at the Accra Sports Stadium last week.

However, unfazed by the huge South African fans at the Mbombela Stadium, Ghana stunned the home side courtesy of a second-half strike.

Priscilla Mensah’s strike in the 63^rd minute helped Ghana progress to the fourth round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The Princesses had great goal opportunities in the early minutes but the last woman in the goal post for the host nation saved all.

Mary Amponsah was injured after half-time and was replaced by Priscilla Mensah, the game winner. She met Jessica’s solo run from the wings and slotted it home in the bottom left corner to give Ghana the lead that ended up becoming the only goal in the game.

South Africa came close in the 78th minute but were denied by Jenna, who protected Ghana’s goalpost relentlessly.

The Head Coach, Charles Sampson, in his remarks, said: “The mood is unbelievable. You could see a lot of emotions, even in me. But the gallant ladies remained resolute and stuck to the plan, which paid off. The sort of challenges we had in this particular camp were huge, and so we are excited about the progress.”

The Black Princesses will next face Uganda, who eliminated Zambia in the final round for a place at the World Cup later this year in Poland.

Touching on the next game, the coach said: “Well, our goal is to go to the World Cup and South Africa was supposed to be a challenge for us, so we are extremely happy we could surpass them. Now we will have time to prepare well to face Uganda.”

The Black Princesses have not missed the U20 Women’s World Cup since 2010, and could qualify for the eighth successive time should they cross the Uganda hurdle.

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