Ghana’s U-17 side, the Black Starlets, suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to the hosts on Tuesday at the WAFU B U-17 Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
The result means only a win in their final group game against Niger will keep their hopes of progressing from Group A alive.
The Starlets had shown character in their opening fixture on Saturday, holding Togo to a 1-1 draw despite playing nearly the entire match with 10 men after Gabriel Denyinah was sent off in just the 3rd minute.
But against Côte d’Ivoire at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, they fell behind early when Bema Doumbia struck in the 4th minute. Hubert Yao added a second after the interval, before Bamba Souhalio sealed victory for the hosts with a third in the 59th minute.
With Niger losing 3-1 to Togo in Tuesday’s other group fixture, Ghana now face a must-win battle to stay in contention.
