Black Maidens head coach Joe Nana Adarkwa has praised his players for their tactical discipline after Ghana defeated Argentina on penalties to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Ghana won 5-4 in the penalty shootout after the Round of 16 encounter ended 1-1 after regulation time, with the Maidens showing resilience despite playing the final stages of the match with 10 players.
Jessica Appiah put Ghana ahead in the 16th minute, giving Adarkwa’s side an early advantage. However, the team’s task became more difficult in the 77th minute when Hajara Adam received a second yellow card and was sent off.
Argentina capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Mercedes Diz scoring in the 86th minute to draw her side level and force the contest into a penalty shootout.
The Ghanaian players held their nerve from the spot, converting their kicks to win 5-4 after Argentina’s Oriana Gomez missed her attempt, sealing the Maidens’ progression to the last eight.
Speaking to FIFA after the match, Adarkwa expressed delight at the result and commended his players for following the technical team’s instructions, particularly after going down to 10 players.
“I’m delighted, as usual. You can see in the celebrations I lost my voice, but I’m OK. We’re a technical team but our players did well because if you are not tactical when it’s 10 against 11, you lose the game but thank God the players played according to our instructions and we drew, so we could go through from that,” Adarkwa said.
The victory marks a significant achievement for Ghana’s young side, whose discipline and composure under pressure proved decisive in a challenging knockout encounter.
The Black Maidens will now turn their attention to the quarter-finals as they continue their campaign for glory at the global tournament.
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