2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Basigi targets qualification from group stage
The Head Coach of the national U-20 female team, Black Princesses, Yusif Basigi, has set a target to qualify from the group stage of this year’s U-20 FIFA World Cup.
The Black Princesses have qualified for the showpiece on six successive occasions but have failed to progress from the group stages.
However, Coach Basigi wants to break that hoodoo with the Colombia edition that kick starts on August 31.
Their best performance was at the 2014 edition in Canada, where they bagged six points from three games but placed third in Group A behind North Korea and host, Canada, losing out on a goal difference of -1.
Inthe 2016 and 2018 editions in Papua New Guinea and France, they finished last in Group C and third in Group A with three points, respectively.
Their last appearance at the Costa Rica edition in 2022 ended in a bottom-place finish with no points from three games.
They boast of only three wins from 12 World Cup games.
But speaking ahead of the team’s departure for the tournament, yesterday, he noted that previous teams did their best to defend the flag of Ghana, but were unfortunate in those bids.
“We have been camping for the past three months preparing for this tournament, and I must say we have done a lot to be able to prove ourselves. The players are ready for the task ahead.”
According to him, it is the dream of everyone on board to go past the group stage and see what is next.
“The players need the support and prayers of Ghanaians, and that is what I seek as we emplane to Colombia to begin the final leg of our preparations,” he added.
The team has lined up at least three friendly games in Bogotá before Ghana opens her account on September 2 at the EstadioMetropolitano de Techo against Austria before facing Japan three days
later at the EstadioMetropolitano de Techo and New Zealand on September 8 at the EstadioPascual Guerrero.
Meanwhile, the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has charged the Black Princesses to give a good account of themselves at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup, scheduled to commence on August 31, 2024, in Colombia.
At a farewell dinner on Monday, Mr Okraku expressed optimism about the prospects of the team, citing the presence of top talents in the team and the good preparation they had ahead of the global showpiece.
“I trust the technical team that we have. I would want to believe that they are doing whatever it takes to get the team ready. When we appear on the turf for our first game, which will be our seventh time appearing at the U-20 World Cup. The seventh consecutive time. What that means is that we are a force already. Our challenge now is to make the biggest impact ever.”
The President tasked the team to maintain a high level of work ethic to deliver success for the country. The team is aiming to break new ground in the tournament after six previous unsuccessful attempts to advance beyond the group stage.
President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku was accompanied by Vice-President, Mark Addo, and Deputy General Secretary in charge of national teams, Alex Asante, Executive Council Members, Gideon Fosu and Samuel Aboabire, and National U20 Women’s Management Committee members
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
