Black Princesses head coach Charles Sampson is confident Ghana can put their disappointing opening-game defeat behind them and respond strongly when they face South Korea in their second group game at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
Ghana suffered a 3-0 defeat to Ecuador in their opening Group C fixture, leaving the Black Princesses needing a positive result against South Korea on Wednesday, September 9, to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.
Sampson believes his players have recovered from the emotional disappointment of the opening defeat and are now fully focused on the challenge ahead.
“Our training was good and now I can say confidently that the girls have come over the last game’s shocker and the emotions in it. So now we are ready to go,” he said during the pre-match press conference.
The coach acknowledged that the Ecuador defeat was an unusual performance from his side, particularly because some aspects of their game that would normally come naturally failed to click.
“I would just say the first game was a very weird game. Weird in many senses, that what we normally do with ease was not really working and it can also be so many factors, difficult to pinpoint.”
Charles Sampson, Black Princesses Head Coach
Rather than dwell on the setback, however, the coach believes the character within his squad can help Ghana respond against South Korea. “But as a team and with the sort of character we have in the team here, this is a challenge that we will handle well,” he added.
Sampson Targets Greater Confidence in the Final Third
One of the areas Ghana have concentrated on in preparation for their second group game is their effectiveness in the final third.
Sampson revealed that finishing has been a consistent area of focus in training, with the coaching staff working to give the players greater confidence in front of goal.
“We have always been good to go. We work on the final third almost all the time. We just need to give them more confidence in it and that’s why we train on them every day, so they score more goals and get more confident, and that’s what we’ve done today.”
Charles Sampson, Black Princesses Head Coach
The Black Princesses will need to be more clinical against South Korea if they are to claim the maximum points required to revive their qualification hopes.
Sampson admitted that the defeat to Ecuador affected both the players and the coaching staff, but insists the squad has now moved beyond the disappointment. “The girls were all down, just like myself on the first day, but we have shaken it off and now we are ready to go and redeem ourselves,” he said. “We are looking forward to the game against South Korea tomorrow.”
The Black Princesses will face South Korea with Ghana needing a strong result to remain in contention for a place in the knockout stages of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
READ ALSO: Falling Import Prices Strengthen Ghana’s Inflation Buffer
