Ghana U20 head coach Maxwell Konadu has acknowledged that his tactical plan failed to deliver the intended outcome after the Black Satellites opened their WAFU B U20 Championship campaign with a 4-2 loss to defending champions Nigeria.
The defeat came in Ghana’s opening Group B encounter at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, on Monday. Konadu attributed the result largely to defensive lapses that proved costly against a strong Nigerian side.
Ghana looked to put Nigeria under pressure from the start by adopting an aggressive high-pressing strategy. However, a series of avoidable mistakes at the back allowed the defending champions to gain the upper hand and eventually secure victory.
Speaking after the match, Konadu described the encounter as a challenging one and explained the thinking behind his approach.
“It was quite a difficult game. We planned to start with a high press to see how our opponents would react. In the process, we gave away some cheap goals that could have been avoided,” he said.
The coach also praised Nigeria for their performance, admitting that the defending champions were the better side on the day.
“Having said that, we can’t take anything away from our colleagues. They did well and played better than us, and we have accepted that. The only thing now is to bounce back and try to win the games ahead of us,” he added.
Konadu has now called on his technical team and players to quickly address the defensive weaknesses ahead of their next fixture.
“We need to quickly fix that problem. Going into the next game, we’ll be working on our defence and making sure we avoid the mistakes we made today,” he said.
The Black Satellites will have an opportunity to respond when they face Burkina Faso in their next Group B game on Thursday, July 30. Ghana will then conclude the group stage against Togo on Sunday, August 2.
Despite the early setback, Ghana have already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, having been designated as hosts of the tournament.
