While African teams are usually overshadowed by European and South American sides in the senior FIFA World Cup, the under-17 version of the event has seen them take the centre-stage often. One prime example of this is Ghana
Known as the 'Black Starlets', the Ghanian team, coached by Paa Kwasi Fabin are making an appearance in FIFA Under-17 World Cup after a gap of ten years. But they have a solid record in the event and through the 1990's, they were one of the best sides in the tournament, emerging as winners in 1991 and 1995 and as runners-up in 1993 and 1997.
The 'starlets' qualified for the 2017 edition of the prestigious event by virtue of being the runners-up in the Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations (Under-17 AFCON) earlier this year, losing to Mali in the Final.
No dearth of talent
In order to regain their old glory in this tournament the starlets will be hoping for a good show from their very capable attacking players.
leading the charge would be forward Eric Ayiah who has already drawn the attention of the major European club FC Porto through his performance in Gabon.
Ayiah leads an attacking quartet, which also includes Gabriel leveh (his strike partner, also dubbed a 'Wonderkid'), Mohammed Iddris (left winger) and Emmanuel Toku (right winger), known for their fierce pace and physical strength.
Ibrahim Sulley is another versatile midfielder in the squad, who is also adept at playing up the field as a winger and impressed with his performances in Gabon.
Ghana honed some famed defensive midfielders such as Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Emmanuel Frimpong for the national team. Young midfielders Gideon Acquah and Rashid Alhassan could be the next addition to the hierarchy. Both play key role in guarding the defensive line behind them.
Coach Talk
Paa Kwasi Fabin, who has been with the team since 2011, is oozing with confidence going into the tournament.
"In India, we'll be out to show we're the best, we've been handed a very tough group. We're up against the sort of sides who need no introduction, but we're ready," Kwasi Fabin was quoted as saying by FIFA.
But he is not simply looking for a decent effort from his colts but instead has set his sights on getting hold of the trophy.
"We put in a big effort to get to the U-17 World Cup again. Qualifying was very tough, but our hard work paid off and we achieved our goal, the time has come for us to reap the benefits of everything we've done so far. Our aim is to get to the Final and win it," the head coach asserted.
He dropped seven players from the squad that reached the Final of Under-17 AFCON. A tough decision taken by the coach. He explained his position thus: "The most difficult thing in my coaching career is to drop some players for a competition. This is because you will be with them for a while and unfortunately, they get dropped. In fact, it was difficult for me but the requirement demands that we present 21 players to FIFA out of the lot. The whole technical team conferred on the final selection of the players but I must admit it was a very difficult task."
Style of Play
Ghana play a traditional 4-4-2 and then shift to 4-2-4 while attacking. Kwesi Fabin plays a double pivot close to the defence line, who are always willing to help the attacking fullbacks.
As mentioned earlier, having a lot of pace in attack, most of the damage is done through the flanks. Centre backs — Abdul Razak and Najeeb Yakubu — are often seen spraying passes to the forwards and wingers.
The evident weakness of the Ghana team is the lack of midfield maestro, which limits their creative option in the middle and expose them as a team with no alternatives. This weakness ultimately led to their downfall in the African cup of nations Final against Mali.
Indian coach luis Norton de Matos sees the starlets among favourites to reach the Final.
"Ghana is another team in contention for the Final," Norton de Matos said.
"The Africans teams play with a lot of freedom and improvisation. Not to forget their overwhelming physical strength. This team won by big margin against strong African teams like Ivory Coast and Cameroon," he further added.
Indeed, the African sides are known for mixing their superb skills with physical strength. In fact, the latter may be the reason for their success at this level.
The Ghanaian side may have the experience of playing in a major tournament when they took part in the U-17 AFCON but in order to prepare for the World Cup, the team spent two weeks in UAE.
Whether that will help them remains to be seen but with the confidence that their coach has shown in them, they would be expected to light up the World Cup as only starlets can.