Ghana’s Black Princesses have breathed new life into their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign after producing an impressive 3-1 victory over South Korea in their second Group C match.
The commanding win was the perfect response to Ghana’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to Ecuador in their opening game and has significantly improved their chances of advancing to the knockout stage.
Coach Charles Sampson made two changes to the team that started against Ecuador, with goalkeeper Precious Akanguwie handed a starting role while Salma Naazo came into the defence.
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The Black Princesses dominated proceedings for large spells in the opening half, creating several promising scoring opportunities but failing to find the breakthrough before the interval.
Ghana eventually got their reward eight minutes after the restart when Sarah Nyarko converted a well-worked attacking move involving captain Priscilla Mensah and Agnes Yeboah.
The goal gave the Black Princesses the confidence they needed, and they doubled their advantage just two minutes later.
Ivy Osei Owusu produced one of the highlights of the match with a spectacular long-range effort that flew into the top-right corner, leaving South Korean goalkeeper Kim Chaebeen with no chance.
With Ghana firmly in control, the team continued to threaten and eventually put the result beyond doubt in the 84th minute.
Ruth Amponsah completed the scoring for Ghana to cap a dominant performance and send the Black Princesses into a commanding position.
South Korea managed to score a consolation goal late in the encounter, but the late response could not prevent Ghana from securing all three points.
The victory also ended the Black Princesses’ seven-match winless run at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and marked their first points at the ongoing tournament.
The result has revived Ghana’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage after the heavy opening-day defeat to Ecuador.
The Black Princesses will now turn their attention to their final Group C fixture against France on September 12, with qualification still within reach.
Ghana will need another strong performance against the French side, knowing that a positive result could be enough to secure their place in the next round.