Cameroun, Black Princesses’ last World Cup hurdle
After five matches out of which they won four, Ghana’s Under-20 female football side, Black Princesses, face, perhaps, the most difficult task in their 2018 Women’s World Cup (WWC) campaign with their final game against tough customers, Cameroun.
The Princesses host Cameroun at the Cape Coast Stadium tomorrow in a must-win for both sides having drawn the first leg 1-1 in their final round for the ticket to France 2018.
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Tomorrow, the Princesses must draw deep to overcome the tricky Lionesses, as they try to avoid the trap Cameroun have so been good at setting for Ghana in such crucial encounters.
Two years ago, under the watch of Coach Yusif Basigi, Ghana’s Black Queens were edged out by Cameroun for the Olympic ticket, with a 1-1 draw in Yaounde and then 2-2 draw in Accra, Cameroun snatching the ticket with the last minute goal.
That pain and disappointment, as well as the eagerness to be at the France tournament for his first World Cup, has pushed Coach Basigi to draw the daggers and waged a war against Cameroun.
“They will not be two times lucky. I still remember that disappointment and we can’t allow them to steal our joy for the second time. They will be tough as they were in Yaounde two weeks ago, but the Princesses are determined to soar above their roar,” Coach Basigi told the Graphic Sports.
While he will not divulge any details of his strategy, Basigi tells the Graphic Sports that they would go in for early goals to avoid any last minute heartbreak.
“I know the Camerounians will probe for early goals and then decide to defend if they are lucky to get that goal. If not, they will try to absorb the pressure we would give them and then open up in the first 15 minutes of the goal in their bid to take us by surprise.”
Despite playing at home, the Camerounians in the first leg played more defensive and succeeded in shutting out the Princesses attack to hold them to a draw, courtesy an own goal from Helena Obeng and the equaliser from Princella Adubea.
Cameroun’s strategy for tomorrow’s game won’t be any different so Basigi must come up with a strategise that will punch the holes into the defence in order to get the goals needed to secure victory.
Adubea, the top scorer for the Princesses and on the continent in this qualifying campaign with nine goals from her team’s 20 goals, has promised to get to work to ensure that their efforts throughout this campaign end on a positive note.
“When we set out in the campaign, our target was to win all matches and qualify. That remains our focus despite the draw against Cameroun in the first leg. Tomorrow, we will complete that mission by winning,” Adubea said.
Despite their lofty plans to silence Cameroun, the Princesses know it won’t be an easy task as the Camerounians, like them, have been a high-scoring side, scoring 9-0 against Guinea in the only game they have played. Their opponents in the qualifying rounds all withdrew.
The Princesses scored 10-0 against Algeria and 9-0 against Kenya before being held to the 1-1 draw by Cameroun.