The Black Satellites have reached the grand finale of the 2024 WAFU U20 Championship after a comeback win over Ivory Coast in Lome on Sunday afternoon.
Ghana advanced to the final after fighting back to inflict a painful 2-1 defeat on the young elephants of Ivory Coast in the semi-final game at the Stade Municipal in Lome, Togo.
Coach Desmond Ofei made two changes in his squad that drew with Togo in their final Group A game against Togo as Kelvin Nkrumah and Collins Boah returned to the starting lineup as replacements for Andrews Adjabeng and Denis Appiah-Kubi, who missed due to suspension.
The Ivorians made their early dominance by opening the scoring through Konan Loukou in the 18th minute of the game.
FC Sheriff Tiraspol young forward Konan Loukou brilliantly gave Ivory Coast the deserving lead after a defensive error of the Ghana U20 team.
The Black Satellites took over possession after the half-hour mark to stage an intense pressure on the Ivorians to snatch the equalizer before the break.
Ghana had the breakthrough to level the score when Ivorian midfielder Isaac Cissé headed a corner-kick effected by Hayford Adu Boahen into his own net on the stroke of halftime.
The first time of the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the Stade Municipal.
In the second half, the Black Satellites continued their impressive performance and registered the winner before the hour mark.
Lanky attacker Jerry Afriyie ensured the Black Satellites victory when he stepped up to convert a spot-kick awarded to them in the 57th minute of the game.
Ghana could have extended their lead in the last twenty minutes of the game, but their attempts were denied by goalkeeper Birama Konan as the match ended in a 2-1 for Coach Desmond Ofei’s side.
Following the victory, Ghana has qualified for the next edition of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations after missing out on the last edition staged in Egypt.
Ghana will face the winner of the second semi-final game between Nigeria and Niger at the Stade du Kague.