Black Starlets captain Issah Abdul Rafiu has apologised to Ghanaians following the team’s failure to secure qualification for the 2027 U17 Africa Cup of Nations after their painful 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of the 2026 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship.

The young skipper expressed deep regret over the team’s inability to achieve its primary objective, acknowledging the disappointment the result has caused supporters who had hoped to see the young side book a place at the continental showpiece in Morocco.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s third-place playoff against hosts Burkina Faso, Issah appealed to Ghanaians for forgiveness and assured them that the players remain determined to end the tournament on a positive note by winning the bronze medal.

“First of all, we want to send our apologies to Ghanaians for failing to qualify for the AFCON. But we want to assure them that we will show up tomorrow and win the bronze medal to show we were down by a man that’s why we lost to Ivory Coast.”

The Black Starlets’ semi-final hopes suffered a major setback in the 17th minute when defender Daniel Owusu received a straight red card, forcing Ghana to play with 10 men for the remainder of the encounter.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the team created several promising opportunities but failed to convert them before Alex Fousseni Bamba scored the decisive goal for Ivory Coast in the 76th minute.

The defeat was particularly painful for Ghana after an impressive group-stage campaign in which they finished top of Group A with seven points from three matches. Victories over Togo and Benin, followed by a goalless draw against Burkina Faso, had raised hopes that the team could go all the way and secure qualification for the AFCON.

However, with that objective now out of reach, Issah and his teammates are turning their attention to the bronze-medal match, determined to give Ghanaians something to celebrate despite the semi-final disappointment.