Colombia’s U-20 Women’s World Cup will be Ghana’s seventh successive participation at the U-20 tournament.
The team has qualified for every edition since debuting in 2010. Ghana have been pitted in Group E alongside Japan, New Zealand and Mexico, in the revamped competition; Participating countries have been increased from the accustomed 16 to 24.
Ahead of Ghana’s opening game against Austria on September 2, univers Sports assesses the team’s performances over key areas.
*Matches played*
The Black Princesses have played 18 games at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, second only to Nigeria amongst African countries. The team is well vested in the tournament and will hope the expanded format of the tournament, will see them make it out of the group stages for the first time ever.
Goals scored
A statistic to frown at. The Black Princesses have managed just 13 goals across seven different tournaments; a statistic which does not make for good reading. Goalscoring has been the bane of this team in previous tournaments, with the team failing to score a goal in the 2012 showpiece and managing just one in the last tournament.
Goals Conceded
A whooping 31 goals has been shipped in by the Black Princesses. A leaky defensive set up across different generations has been a constant through out Ghana’s history in the U-20 Women’s World Cup. Stabilizing the defence will be the first step in making it far in Colombia.
Wins
A mere 3 wins is all Ghana have to show since the competition’s inception. Wins have been difficult to come by in previous tournaments, with the team failing to record a single victory in the last edition in 2022. Ghana’s last victory came against New Zealand in 2018.
Defeats
A worrying statistic. 11 out of Ghana’s 18 games have ended in defeats. Being pitted against Austria, Japan and New Zealand in group E of the 2024 edition, Ghana will hope to avoid further damages.
Clean Sheets
The high rate of concession and frequent defeats means clean sheets have been difficult to come by for the team. The Black Princesses have kept 3 cleansheets, with their first coming against Switzerland in 2010, whilst the last came 7 years ago.
Meanwhile, with two friendly draws (0-0 against Mexico and 2-2 against South Korea), Colombia’s U-20 World Cup would be a stern test for Yussif Bassigi’s side.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers. ug.edu.gh
