Ghana’s Black Satellites have been knocked out of the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship after being held to a goalless draw by Togo in their final Group B match.
Ghana needed to beat Togo at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. Despite dominating for long spells and creating several chances, they were unable to find the goal that would have extended their campaign.
The result left Ghana third in Group B with two points from three matches, bringing an end to their participation in the regional tournament.
The Black Satellites opened the competition with a defeat by Nigeria before drawing with Burkina Faso in their second Group B fixture. Their failure to secure a win against Togo meant they could not progress to the knockout stages.
Head coach Maxwell Konadu said the tournament would provide valuable lessons as Ghana prepare for the 2027 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which they will host.
Konadu acknowledged that Ghana had arrived in Cote d’Ivoire with ambitions of winning, but accepted that some aspects of the team’s plans had not worked as intended.
“The team came here to compete and to win. Having said that, we also know there were one or two things that didn’t go according to plan. In football, you don’t always get everything 100 percent.”
The manager insisted the early exit would not damage the players’ confidence. Instead, he believes the experience can motivate the squad to improve before their next major challenge.
“This is not going to demotivate us. Rather, it will encourage us to give our best. We have to move on, reorganise ourselves and come back stronger.”
Ghana’s hosting of the 2027 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations will give the team another opportunity to compete at continental level, but Konadu indicated that the group involved in the WAFU tournament is unlikely to remain unchanged.
He said the coaching staff would assess the squad and make the necessary changes ahead of next year’s competition.
“We came here to win, but it didn’t work out. We will reorganise ourselves. Definitely, we will not present the same team for the AFCON next year.”
