Former Ghana international Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has waded in the conversation on the Black Starlets of Ghana, after the team’s performance against Benin in the WAFU Zone B u17 tournament.
The Ghana U17 team secured a 2-0 win over Benin at the University of Ghana Stadium in their second and final group game. Goals from Mark Kagawa Mensah and Theophilus Ayamga ensured Ghana’s progression to the semi-finals of the competition.
In an exclusive interview with Univers sports, the U-20 World Cup winner claimed the Black Starlets were caught up by inexperience, which caused their poor performance – especially in the second half of the game where they failed to score.
They are very young. Normally, I don’t want to pin point. The issue is, when young guys like this are winning by huge margin like this, they relax a bit. I will say they relaxed in the second half and it gave the opponent a chance to play a bit more than us, he said.
Nonetheless, the former Kotoko midfielder Agyemang Badu commended the Black Starlets team, led by former Ghana international Laryea Kingston, for their excellent fighting spirit in their 2-0 victory over Benin.
Today’s game against Benin, well improved, even after winning you see the mentality of the guys. They were still pushing, they were still creating the chances; that’s what we want. And it’s the mentality of the coach that have imparted them and they are doing this kind of great job. So, we will build on this game so that we can tackle the semi finals very well. We want to host it and win like how the under 20 did last two months, he added.
Ghana will now turn their attention to winning the semi-finals to secure a place in the 2025 U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), aiming to end a seven-year absence from the tournament.
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Story by: Asack Pius| univers.ug.edu.gh
