Black Satellites head coach Maxwell Konadu has praised the character of his players after they battled to a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in their second Group B match at the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Reduced to ten men early in the contest following the dismissal of defender Kofi Junior Kumah, Ghana produced a spirited display to fight back and earn a valuable point through Joseph Badu’s first-half equaliser.
Despite failing to secure all three points, Konadu expressed immense pride in his team’s performance, insisting the Black Satellites deserved more from the encounter.
“It was a very difficult match. We had a red card in the early minutes, which distracted us because we had to make changes and move players into unfamiliar positions. But despite that, the game was keenly contested and I think we did our best. We played better and should have carried the day.”
The Ghana coach revealed that the early setback forced his technical team to abandon their original approach and make tactical adjustments during the game.
“We needed to change the system, and that’s exactly what we did. We switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-1, and that created a lot of scoring opportunities for us.”
Konadu believed his side had the momentum after restoring parity and should have gone on to complete the comeback.
“Our strikers did everything possible and the midfielders worked extremely hard, but the second goal just wouldn’t come. We equalised when we were on top of the game, and that was the moment we should have killed the match. Unfortunately, we were unlucky.”
The Black Satellites coach also explained that Ghana’s attacking plan remained effective despite the numerical disadvantage.
“The game plan was to use Kelvin to exploit the wide areas, with Latif and Amakye coming on to finish things off. The red card disrupted those plans, but we never gave up. When they came on, they created chances. The ball just refused to go into the net.”
While disappointed not to claim victory, Konadu was full of admiration for his players’ attitude and commitment throughout the contest.
“I’m proud of the boys. Even though we couldn’t win, we’ll keep fighting. We’ll try to beat Togo and then see what happens in the Nigeria-Burkina Faso game. We believed we could beat Burkina Faso and we created so many chances. Sometimes that’s football – you just have to accept it and move on. The boys did so well, even with one man down.”
The Black Satellites coach also acknowledged the quality of their opponents while stressing that Ghana matched and, for long periods, outplayed them.
“Burkina Faso are not a bad team. They won 3-1 in their first match, but today they couldn’t really come to the party. I thought we controlled most of the game.”
Konadu highlighted the positive impact of changes to his starting line-up, particularly the reshuffle in midfield, and hinted at giving more players opportunities in the team’s final group fixture.
“We changed two players – the goalkeeper and one midfielder. We moved one of our centre-backs into the defensive midfield role and he did really well. Going forward, that’s something we’ll think about. In the last game we’ll also give other players the chance to experience the tournament because everyone has a role to play in our preparations. But first and foremost, we want to win. We have to win at least one game before we leave here.”
The Black Satellites now turn their attention to Sunday’s final Group B encounter against Togo, where victory will be crucial as they look to finish the competition strongly.
Although Ghana has already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as hosts, the WAFU B U-20 Championship remains an important part of the team’s development programme. The tournament continues to provide valuable competitive experience, strengthen team cohesion and help shape the squad ahead of hosting Africa’s premier youth football tournament next year.
