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Black Starlets keep U-17 World Cup dream alive with crucial win over South Africa

By Samuel Ekow Amoasi Appiah
21 May 2026

The Black Starlets of Ghana kept their hopes of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup alive after securing a convincing 3-1 victory over South Africa in their final Group D fixture.

Heading into the decisive encounter, the Black Starlets faced immense pressure following a 2-2 draw against Algeria and a narrow 1-0 defeat to Senegal, knowing that avoiding defeat was essential to remain in contention.

Captain Joseph Narbi rose to the occasion with a brilliant brace to inspire Ghana to an important victory over the South Africans.

Narbi gave Ghana a dream start, opening the scoring from the penalty spot with a powerful low strike that left the South African goalkeeper with no chance.

The Black Starlets continued to dominate and doubled their advantage just before half-time when Narbi calmly converted his second penalty of the match, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to hand Ghana a comfortable lead at the break.

South Africa responded after the restart, with Obama Mhlongo pulling one back to reduce the deficit and briefly revive the Amajitas’ hopes.

However, their task became more difficult moments later when they were reduced to ten men, handing Ghana greater control of the contest.

The Black Starlets capitalised on their numerical advantage deep into injury time when Augustine Appiah punished a poor South African clearance with a fierce low finish to seal a deserved 3-1 victory.

Despite the impressive result, Ghana finished third in Group D behind leaders Senegal and Algeria. Appiah’s late strike proved insufficient to lift the Black Starlets into the automatic qualification spots.

Ghana will now wait anxiously to discover their fate, with qualification dependent on the drawing of lots involving Algeria to determine the final standings and their World Cup prospects.

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