U-17 Women’s World Cup: Joe Nana Adarkwa commends Black Maidens after reaching last 16

Ghana’s U-17 women’s coach Joe Nana Adarkwa has praised his players after they secured qualification for the Round of 16 at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

The Black Maidens booked their place in the knockout stage with a 2-0 victory over Canada in their final Group C match, following a difficult start to the tournament.

Ghana suffered a 3-0 defeat to Norway in their opening game before producing an impressive performance to draw 3-3 against Brazil.

Speaking after the victory over Canada, an elated Adarkwa said he was proud of his players for achieving their target of progressing to the next stage.

“We are happy. You can see on the front; the girls are happy. As a coach, I'm very, very happy and they made us proud, they made us extremely proud,” he said.

“We came here purposely for a win. We came purposely for a win and lo and behold, it happened. So, this is what we planned for.”

Adarkwa also praised his technical team, highlighting the impact of his second-half substitutions in helping Ghana secure the crucial victory.

“At least the second half, our changes were wonderful. Our changes, we did well. I'm proud of myself and my technical team,” he added.

The Black Maidens will now turn their attention to their Round of 16 encounter against Argentina on 28 October.

Despite the team’s progress, Adarkwa acknowledged that the challenges would become more difficult as the tournament advances, promising to prepare his players for the next test.

“Going forward, I know we are heading to difficult times. We are going to face tougher opposition, and we are going to work towards that,” he concluded.