Black Starlets head coach Kassim Ocansey has described the defeat to Ivory Coast as “really painful”, which ended their hopes of reaching the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The nation’s U-17 side had gone unbeaten in the group stage of the WAFU Zone B tournament before suffering a 1-0 loss to the Ivorians in the semi-finals.
The Starlets ended the game with 10 men after defender Daniel Owusu received a straight red card for a last-man tackle in the 17th minute.
“It was a game we could have won,” Kassim said.
“It was a game we were controlling until the red card in the 17th minute. Even after that, we created some good chances but missed them. And considering the time Ivory Coast scored, it’s really painful.”
The setback denied Ghana back-to-back qualification for next year’s continental showpiece, to be hosted by Morocco.
The absence extends their run of not qualifying for the World Cup since 2017.