Head coach of Ghana’s U20 team Desmond Ofei has revealed the team’s target is to reach the final of the men’s football at the ongoing African Games.
The Black Satellites were held to a goalless draw in their opening group game against Congo but felt hard done by after the linesman ruled out a late winner for a wrongful offside.
Up next for the team is a tricky test against a Gambia side that has massively improved in recent years. The Young Scorpions matched their best finish at the U20 World Cup reaching the round of 16 in 2023.
In the past five years, Gambia’s U20 team has won two gold medals, one silver, and one bronze at the WAFU Zone A U-20 tournament. Ofei is aware of the threat his opponents will pose on Tuesday night.
“We are very well prepared. We have to give respect to the Gambian coach with what he did at the World Cup making Africa proud. He is a very good coach and tactician. We know their weaknesses and strengths and the boys are ready to deliver tomorrow,” Ofei said at the press conference on Monday.
Ghana is the fifth most successful country when it comes to men’s football at the African Games with three medals to its name. Ofei revealed the team aims to reach the final of the competition.
“For us, our target hasn’t changed, we are Ghana and we are supposed to be one of the best footballing nations in Africa. No matter what we must be ready for the tournament. In this tournament, we only have one target and that is to reach the final.”
After winning the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2021, Ghana has failed to replicate similar success as the team’s performances have deteriorated.
The Black Satellites lost to Nigeria in the WAFU sub-regional tournament and couldn’t qualify for the 2023 U20 AFCON.
The team then capped off a disastrous year after being eliminated at the group stages of the WAFU Zone B Boys Championship in Ivory Coast.
Ghana’s gold medal at the 2011 African Games remains the last time the country’s men’s team won a medal at the football event and the Black Satellites will be looking to replicate that feat in front of a home crowd.