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Ghana made a difficult start to their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Ecuador at the Arena Sosnowiec in Poland on Sunday.
Ecuador took control of the Group C encounter early, with Rosa Flores opening the scoring after just four minutes with a spectacular long-range effort.
Flores struck from nearly 40 metres, lifting a left-footed shot over Ghana goalkeeper Najat Salam to give the South Americans the perfect start.
Ghana attempted to respond and came close through Agnes Yeboah, whose effort struck the post, but Ecuador remained the more dangerous side.
Their pressure paid off again in the 17th minute when Flores turned provider, delivering a well-weighted pass for Domenica Arboleda to double the lead.
Ghana struggled to find a way back into the match despite showing greater resistance after the break.
Ecuador eventually sealed the victory with 20 minutes remaining when Arboleda scored her second goal of the game to make it 3-0.
Flores was at the heart of Ecuador’s impressive display, contributing a goal and an assist before being named player of the match.
The result puts Ecuador in a strong early position in Group C, while Ghana will need to respond quickly in their next fixture if they are to keep their hopes of progressing alive.
For Ghana, the defeat underlined the challenge of competing at this level, with Ecuador proving more clinical in the key moments and punishing defensive lapses.
