The Black Starlets of Ghana are set to clash with Ivory Coast today, Friday, October 3, in the grand finale of the 2025 WAFU Zone B U-17 Boys Championship. The highly anticipated encounter will be staged at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro.
Ghana booked their place in the final with a commanding 2-0 triumph over fierce rivals Nigeria in the semi-finals. The Ivorians, on the other hand, edged Burkina Faso 2-1 to secure their ticket.
The hosts hold a psychological edge, having defeated Ghana 3-0 in the group stage. However, the Black Starlets have since mounted an impressive comeback, bouncing back with a 3-1 victory over Niger before dispatching Nigeria with authority.
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Ahead of the decisive match, Ghana coach Prosper Narteh Ogum assured fans that his side would approach the game with a renewed mentality and strategy.
He said after the win over Nigeria,
It will be a different Ghana; our structure will be different, and our mentality and our character will also be different. They defeated us in the group stage
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Fortunately, we have been able to play them, so we know what to do: go back and prepare ourselves in terms of our mentality and character and how we need to stay focused on the field.
Tactically, we also have to re-strategise to make sure that we meet them boot for boot.
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Both Ghana and Ivory Coast have already booked their places at next year’s U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Under the guidance of Prosper Ogum, the Black Starlets will now be aiming to go a step further and lift the WAFU B title to crown their resurgence.