2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship: Maxwell Konadu praises Black Satellites’ fighting spirit after Burkina Faso draw

Black Satellites head coach Maxwell Konadu has praised his players for their resilience after Ghana battled to a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in their second Group B fixture.

Ghana went into Thursday’s encounter under pressure after suffering a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Nigeria in their opening match on Monday. Their hopes of securing a positive result were further complicated when defender Kofi Junior Kumah was shown a red card early in the game.

Despite being reduced to ten men, the Black Satellites showed great determination and produced a spirited performance to earn a valuable point. Joseph Badu restored parity for Ghana with a first-half equaliser after Burkina Faso had taken the lead.

Although the result denied Ghana all three points, Konadu was full of praise for his team’s effort and believes they deserved victory based on their performance.

"It was a very difficult match. We had a red card in the early minutes, which distracted us because we had to make changes and move players into unfamiliar positions. But despite that, the game was keenly contested, and I think we did our best. We played better and should have carried the day," he said.

The experienced coach explained that the early dismissal forced his technical team to quickly alter their tactical plan, with Ghana switching formations to remain competitive.

"We needed to change the system, and that's exactly what we did. We switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-1, and that created a lot of scoring opportunities for us."

Konadu also admitted that Ghana had a strong opportunity to secure maximum points after scoring the equaliser and taking control of the match.

"Our strikers did everything possible and the midfielders worked extremely hard, but the second goal just wouldn't come. We equalised when we were on top of the game, and that was the moment we should have killed the match. Unfortunately, we were unlucky," he added.

The Black Satellites will now shift their focus to their final Group B fixture against Togo on Sunday, where they will be aiming for a crucial result to boost their chances of progressing to the next stage.