Charles Sampson Calls for Black Princesses Response After Ecuador Setback
Black Princesses head coach Charles Sampson says Ghana have drawn a line under their disappointing start to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and are ready to respond against South Korea.
The Black Princesses were left with work to do after losing their opening group match 3-0 to Ecuador, making Wednesday’s encounter with South Korea a crucial fixture in their bid to progress to the knockout stage.
With little room for another setback, Sampson says the squad has regained its composure and is approaching the second game with renewed determination.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the coach revealed that the players had initially struggled to deal with the disappointment of the Ecuador result but have since shifted their attention to the next challenge.
“The girls were all down, just like myself on the first day, but we have shaken it off and now we are ready to go and redeem ourselves,” Sampson said.
Finishing Remains a Major Focus
The Ghana coach has also placed particular emphasis on improving the team’s work in the final third, an area he believes must improve if the Black Princesses are to convert their opportunities against South Korea.
According to Sampson, the squad has continued to work on attacking situations in training, with the aim of building confidence in front of goal.
“We work on the final third almost all the time. We just need to give them more confidence in it and that’s why we train on them every day, so they score more goals and get more confident,” he explained.
Sampson described Ghana’s opening match as an uncharacteristic performance, admitting that things which normally came naturally to his players did not work as expected.
“I would just say the first game was a very weird game. Weird in many senses, that what we normally do with ease was not really working and it can also be so many factors, difficult to pinpoint,” he said.
Despite the setback, the coach believes the squad possesses enough character to overcome the disappointment and produce a stronger display in its second group fixture.
“But as a team and with the sort of character we have in the team here, this is a challenge that we will handle well,” Sampson added.
He also expressed satisfaction with the team’s latest training session, saying the players have recovered from the emotional impact of the opening defeat.
“Our training was good, thank God. Now I can say confidently that the girls have come over the last game’s shocker and the emotions in it. So now we are ready to go.”
Ghana will meet South Korea on Wednesday, September 9, knowing that a positive result could prove decisive in keeping their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign alive.