Ghana's U17 women fall 1-0 to Japan in the quarter-finals, and coach Joe Nana Adarkwa says his side gave everything.
Ghana's Black Maidens have exited the U-17 Women's World Cup, and coach Joe Nana Adarkwa is not hiding his pride in the young women who carried the flag. Japan edged them 1-0 in the quarter-finals in Rabat on Sunday, ending Ghana's run and sending the Asian side into the last four.
Nanami Kurita scored the only goal of the game. Before that, Japan dominated the first half and kept Ghana pinned back, while the Black Maidens managed just one attempt on goal. Japan could not break through before the interval, but Kurita eventually found a way past the Ghanaian defence.
Ghana pushed hard late on and tried to rescue the game, but the equaliser never came. Once again, the Black Maidens have fallen at the quarter-final stage of this competition, a familiar barrier for Ghanaian football.
Adarkwa was quick to praise his squad and his backroom team. "I am proud of the ladies, proud of my technical team; they did well, they played their hearts out, and they did their best, but our best wasn't enough," he said. The challenge now is turning that honest reflection into lessons that help Ghana's next generation go one step further.
