Maidens set sight on Paraguay win
Ghana's 2-1 win over the USA last Tuesday has thrown wide the team's chances in Group D and all the Black Maidens need to do is to win their final group game against Paraguay tomorrow to progress to the next stage of the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup underway in Jordan.
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While Japan, who have claimed six points and a whopping 10 goals in their games against Ghana (5-0) and Paraguay (5-0), are already through to the quarter-finals, the remaining three teams all have a chance to go through depending on what happens in the final group game.
USA could go through if they win against Japan while Paraguay beat Ghana. The Maidens will go through with a win against Paraguay while Japan also beat the USA. Even Paraguay, who are technically out of the competition, could progress if both the Ghanaians and Americans lose their game.
With such a dicey situation which has created an all-to-play for situation, the Maidens have vowed to take their destiny in their own hands by beating Paraguay to qualify.
"Without sounding disrespectful, we are not interested in just beating USA, but we are serious about progressing to the quarter-finals. We are determined to beat Paraguay to make it. Though it's necessary, we don't want to be concerned too much about what happens in the other group game.
"We want to focus on our game against Paraguay and win. Winning is our only guarantee to the quarter-finals and we want to make that mark," Coach Evans Adotey told The Mirror.
To achieve that however, Coach Adotey must work on his side's leaky defence which has seen them concede two early goals in their two games. If they are able to seal that leak and hold on against the Paraguayan side who are not technically and naturally gifted, then the Ghanaians stand the chance of living their dream.
So far, the midfield and attack seem to show some great promise but they need to be more accurate with their targeted shots if they are to kill the game and make whatever happens in the USA-Japan game inconsequential.
The Paraguayans have nothing to lose as they need a huge win to edge out the Maidens; so all they may be out to do is to frustrate the Maidens in their quest to progress.
The Maidens must not allow that to happen and just as they did to Paraguay’s neighbours, Uruguay, in the 2012 edition in Azerbaijan, by winning 5-0.
They should be able to take care of Paraguayans and retain their record of being the best African side at the U-17 WWC so far since its inception.