THE Black Starlets suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in the semi-finals of the 2026 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship on Tuesday, ending their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The Black Starlets were forced to play with 10 men from the 17th minute after defender Daniel Owusu received a straight red card for an avoidable tackle on an Ivorian striker.

Despite the early setback, Ghana showed resilience and remained competitive throughout the encounter at the 4th August Stadium in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Kassim Ocansey’s side held their own and created decent scoring opportunities in both halves. Striker Alidu Issah had a golden opportunity to put Ghana ahead but failed to hit the target, squandering what proved to be one of the Black Starlets’ best chances of the match.

Cote d’Ivoire eventually broke the deadlock in the 76th minute through Alex Fousseni Bamba, who fired home from close range to give his side the decisive advantage.

The Starlets pushed desperately for an equaliser in the closing stages, refusing to surrender despite being a man down. David Kwarteng came close to restoring parity after beautifully controlling a pass from Prince Apam, but his effort narrowly missed the post.

The defeat ends the Black Starlets’ hopes of reaching the final and securing qualification for the 2027 U17 AFCON.

Cote d’Ivoire, meanwhile, have booked their place in the tournament final and secured a ticket to the continental competition in Morocco.

The Starlets will now have to shift their attention to the third-place final against the loser of the Niger-Burkina Faso clash.

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