Black Maidens ready for Senegal test

The female national U-17 team, the Black Maidens will host the Young Teranga Lionesses of Senegal in the second leg final qualifier for the 10th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (Morocco 2026) at the Accra Sports Stadium, today.

On the back of a 1-1 draw a in Dakar, Coach Joe Nana Adarkwa and his charges will hope to scale over this hurdle to pluck one of the four slots as they seek a seventh appearance at the Mundial.

Until last Saturday’s draw away at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, the team had been flawless both at home and on the road, first brushing aside the Female Sparrowhawks of Togo 8-0 on aggregate before repeating the same scorelines against their counterparts from Liberia to book a final round date against the Senegalese.

The Young Teranga Lionesses would be chasing their first ever World Cup appearance and are expected to throw everything into this game with the view of getting past their host.

The last time the two sides met in a competitive game was in the qualifiers for the India 2022 final where the Black Maidens run away with a 4-0 aggregate win.

Ahead of the game, the Black Maidens delivered an emphatic 7-0 thrashing of a United Kingdom based women’s division side Accryton Ladies, who are on a training tour of Ghana on Wednesday.

Coach Nana Adarkwa has expressed confidence of his side getting past the Senegalese hurdle today.

Acknowledging the quality of the Senegalese side, he expressed belief in his players to rise to the occasion and get the job.

Meanwhile the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Namibian Antsino Ndemugwanitha Twanyanyukwa as the referee for the game. She will be assisted by Diana Chikotesha from Zambia and Carine Atezambong Fomo from Cameroon, with Namibian Nuusiku Vistoria Shangula as the fourth official.

Sainabou Cham of The Gambia will serve as the match commissioner, while Faith Uwugiaren Irabor from Nigeria will be the referee assessor.

BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY