Ghana begin Women’s U20 World Cup campaign against Ecuador as they target historic progress

Ghana will begin their eighth appearance at the Women’s U20 World Cup against first-time participants Ecuador, as Charles Sampson’s side attempt to reach the knockout stage for the first time in the country’s history.

The Black Princesses have been drawn in Group C alongside Ecuador, South Korea and France at this year’s tournament in Poland, which takes place in September.

Ghana have played in the competition seven times previously but have never progressed beyond the opening round. Sampson has therefore been given the task of ending that run and guiding the team further into the tournament than any previous Ghana side.

Their campaign starts against Ecuador, who will be making their debut at the Women’s U20 World Cup. On paper, Ecuador have the least tournament experience in the group, offering Ghana an early opportunity to make a positive start.

The Black Princesses then face South Korea, who finished third at the 2010 edition of the competition. Ghana and South Korea have each reached the finals of the tournament the same number of times, making their second group match a meeting between two sides with comparable experience at this level.

Ghana’s final first-round fixture will be against France, who represent the strongest test on paper in Group C. France were runners-up in 2016 and enter the tournament after reaching the final of the European Women’s Under-19 Championship.

The group-stage schedule means Ghana will face Ecuador first before taking on South Korea and then France. They will need to finish strongly against the French side if they are to secure progress from the group.

Ghana booked their place at the tournament by beating Uganda 3-2 on aggregate in the final qualifying round. That result secured an eighth appearance for the Black Princesses and set up another opportunity to improve on their previous record.

Although Ghana have yet to go beyond the first round in seven earlier appearances, Sampson’s team will hope their qualifying victory provides the foundation for a breakthrough campaign. Their route to the next stage begins with a meeting against Ecuador before the more experienced challenges posed by South Korea and France.

Ghana’s Women’s U20 World Cup first-round schedule

– Sunday, 6 September, 16:00: Ecuador v Ghana – Wednesday, 9 September, 13:00: Ghana v South Korea – Saturday, 12 September, 16:00: Ghana v France