Eight and out: Ghana’s Black Princesses crash out of U-20 Women’s World Cup again

Ghana’s Black Princesses have once again failed to progress beyond the group stage of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to France in Poland.

The result condemned Ghana to another early exit from the competition and extended their unwanted record of failing to reach the knockout stage since their debut in 2010.

The Black Princesses entered their final Group C fixture knowing a draw would at least keep their qualification hopes alive. They had revived their campaign with a victory over South Korea in their second match, but needed another strong performance against France to secure progression.

Instead, Ghana collapsed after the break as France produced a dominant second-half display to score four unanswered goals.

Ghana hold France at bay before collapse

Charles Sampson made one change to the side that defeated South Korea, with Latifa Abesik replacing the injured Esther Asamoah.

Ghana appeared to make a promising start when Priscilla Mensah found the net early in the contest. However, the effort was ruled out for offside, denying the Black Princesses an important advantage.

The two teams remained locked at 0-0 at half-time, leaving Ghana with everything to play for in the second half.

But the Princesses were unable to maintain their resistance after the restart.

France stepped up their intensity and eventually found a way through the Ghanaian defence, before adding three more goals to complete a convincing victory.

The four-goal defeat handed Ghana their second loss of the tournament and ended any hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

South Korea result seals Ghana’s fate

Ghana’s elimination was confirmed by the result of the other Group C fixture, with South Korea beating Ecuador.

France finished top of the group on four points, while South Korea took second place with four points. Ecuador finished third on three points, level with Ghana but ahead of the Black Princesses on the relevant ranking criteria.

Ghana therefore ended their campaign at the bottom of the group with three points from three matches.

The latest disappointment continues a troubling pattern for the Black Princesses at the global tournament.

Since making their U-20 Women’s World Cup debut in 2010, Ghana have now exited at the group stage on eight consecutive occasions.

The failure also adds to a difficult tournament for African teams. Ghana become the third African representative to bow out after Benin and Tanzania had already suffered elimination.

The Black Princesses will now return home without achieving their long-standing ambition of advancing beyond the group stage, leaving Ghanaian women’s football facing renewed questions over the country’s development and competitiveness at the global youth level.