Ghana’s Black Starlets will aim for a record third continental title when they face Mali in the final of the African Under-17 championship at the Stade de l’Amitié Sino in Libreville.
Two-time champions Starlets have been very impressive in the tournament despite riding on the lottery of penalties to go past a plucky Niger side in a scoreless semi-final encounter.
Their quest to become the first side to win the African title thrice would be dependent on going past a tough Malian side who are also eyeing a record of their own as the first side to successfully defend the continental title.
After an explosive start during which they scored nine goals in two group games to reach this year’s FIFA Under-17 Championship in India, Paa Kwesi Fabin’s side suffered an unusual goal drought, playing for 180 minutes without a goal in regulation time against Guinea and Niger.
The Malians also needed the heroics of goalkeeper Youssouf Koita during a penalty shoot-out to win against Guinea to see them through to their second consecutive continental final.
Mali’s coach, Jonas Kokou Komla, says his side have a lot of respect for their Ghanaian counterparts but will not go into the match with any complex, as they want to win the trophy and hope that it helps bring peace to their country.
“The mindset of the players was right as they really wanted to beat Guinea in this match. We shall plan well for Ghana and we are sure it will be an interesting match. We are now thinking about winning the cup.”
His Ghanaian counterpart Fabin admitted his side were lucky to have eliminated Niger but was concerned about his side’s goal drought in their last two games despite having the competition’s leading goal scorer, Eric Ayiah.
Fabin though has strength in-depth with other scoring options in Ibrahim Sulley and Emmanuel Toku, Man of the Match in their semi-final win over Niger. He says his players will avoid being overconfident as their opponents are also a high scoring side who have enjoyed a fine run in the tournament so far.
