Good preparation key to Black Princesses’ success — Coach Basigi

Ghana’s under-20 women’s team coach, Yusif Basigi, has expressed confidence that with early and meticulous preparation, the Black Princesses are poised to advance beyond the group stage in this year’s U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Colombia.

As the team gears up for its seventh appearance at the global tournament, Basigi has set a historic target: progressing past the group stage for the first time ever.

Drawn in Group E, Ghana will face former champions, Japan, Austria, and New Zealand, from August 21 to September 22.

Commenting on the recent draw, Coach Basigi noted that the Black Princesses had been placed in a 'manageable' group, avoiding the dreaded 'Group of Death' label. He compared this to previous tournaments where challenging groupings and inadequate preparation hampered the team's progress.

"Previously, we found ourselves in what was usually tagged as the Group of Death. For instance, in 2020 we played against France and the Netherlands, and in 2022 we faced Japan, the

Netherlands, and the USA. While not disrespecting any of the sides in our group for the Colombia tournament, I believe with early and good preparation, and the players we have in mind being in shape, we should be able to achieve our target of going past the group stage for the first time," Basigi told the Graphic Sports.

World Cup draw

With the competition expanded from 16 to 24 teams, and four slots allocated to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the other African representatives have been handed challenging groups.

Cameroun, in Group A, will face hosts Colombia, Australia and Mexico. Debutants Morocco are in Group C against former champions, USA, Spain, and Paraguay. 

Nigeria, runners-up in 2010 and 2014, will compete against Germany, South Korea and Venezuela in Group D. Group B includes France, Canada, Brazil and Fiji, while Group F features North Korea, Argentina, Costa Rica and the Netherlands.

This will be Basigi’s second time leading the Princesses at the U-20 Women's World Cup, having previously coached them in France 2018, where they exited at the group stage. Since qualifying the team, he has set a goal of advancing further and has submitted his preparation plans to the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

"I believe we have learned from previous tournaments, and that experience will guide us in planning, preparing and executing our strategy to achieve our aim in Colombia," said Basigi, who led the Princesses to victories in the WAFU Zone B and African Games tournaments last year.

Ghana’s campaign will kick off on September 2 against Austria, followed by matches against Japan on September 5, and New Zealand on September 8. The tournament opens on August 31, with Cameroun facing Mexico and hosts, Colombia, playing Australia.