Black Princesses: Unwanted statistics spell doom in ongoing World Cup

The 4-1 chastening suffered at the hands of Japan on Thursday night left the Black Princesses on the cusp of exiting the ongoing U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia – with two successive defeats for the team.

However, the defeat inflicted by Japan added an extra layer to a run of successive losses; the Black Princesses have lost five games in succession for the first time in the tournament‘s history.

Following an opening day 2-1 loss against Austria, a response against 2018 champions, Japan, was always going to be an uphill task.

The 4-1 loss to Japan was not much of a surprise, given the rich history of the Asian side, which is in contrast to Ghana’s struggles at this level since debuting in 2010.

Ghana had played 18 games before the tournament, recording four wins, three draws, and loosing a whooping eleven.

The history books have been updated, with the team adding two more defeats to their ever-growing dismal performances.

Having featured in the previous six editions of the tournament in succession, head coach Yussif Basigi was expected to lead his side to the knockout phase after failing at all attempts previously.

With the team scoring twice and conceding six times in two games, Ghana’s exploits in Colombia seem all but over.

Despite the expansion of the participating teams in the tournament from 16-to 24, the Black Princesses are bottom of the pile amongst the third-best-placed finishers.

The alternative route, just like the main qualification route, does not look too good for the team, with a last game against New Zealand awaiting Ghana.

The team may take encouragement from facing New Zealand in the last group game since they were the side they last recorded a win against in 2018.

However, the 15 goals conceded in Ghana’s last five games (which include a 4-1 defeat to the Netherlands in 2022, a 2-0 loss to Japan that same year, a 3-0 loss to the USA, and the recent defeats against Austria and Japan) reduces the team’s chances of progression.

Ghana face New Zealand on Sunday with the hope of making the knockouts of the World Cup.

By Andrews Sefa Bamfo

The post Black Princesses: Unwanted statistics spell doom in ongoing World Cup first appeared on 3News.

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