Starlets sure to beat Young Elephants

A herculean task awaits the Black Starlets of Ghana as theyplay host to the Young Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in a critical African Under-17 Championship qualifier at the 15,000-capacity new Cape Coast Stadium tomorrow.

The crunchy first leg duel offers the Ghanaians an opportunity to bounce back in style after the nation was disqualified by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in October 2014 for fielding an ineligible player, Isaac Twum, in the final qualifier against Cameroun for the previous Championship in Niger.

With Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin expressing still upbeat about his team’s chances in next year’s Championship slated for Madagascar, the Ivorians will surely need a magic wand to, at least, pick a point or win in tomorrow’s encounter.

Having shifted camp to Cape Coast all week to finalise preparations, Coach Fabin is expected to psyche his boys up to register a convincing win against the Ivorians who are expected to be tough as usual.

And to ensure a handsome victory which can reduce the burden on the Starlets in the second leg, Coach Fabin is expected to line up a solid squad, including budding talents such as Eric Eyiah, Emmanuel Toku, Mohammed Iddris, Isaac Antah and Nathaniel Onyinah Opoku. 

Notwithstanding the formidable nature of the opposition, the present generation of Starlets has a rich tradition to follow as Ghana has ruled Africa and the world twice on different occasions in the past.