Black Satellites head coach Maxwell Konadu remains confident Ghana can recover from their disappointing start to the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Nigeria in their opening Group B fixture.
Ghana fell to the defending champions at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, with defensive lapses proving costly as the Flying Eagles capitalised on the Black Satellites’ mistakes.
Speaking after the match, Konadu admitted his team struggled defensively but accepted that Nigeria deserved their victory.
“It was quite a difficult game. We planned to start with a high press to see how our opponents would react. In the process, we gave away some cheap goals that could have been avoided,” he said.
The former Black Stars coach praised Nigeria for their performance, acknowledging that the champions took full advantage of Ghana’s mistakes.
“Having said that, we can’t take anything away from our colleagues. They did well and played better than us, and we have accepted that. The only thing now is to bounce back and try to win the games ahead of us.”
Konadu said his technical team expected a physical contest against Nigeria but was disappointed with the manner in which his side conceded.
“We knew they were going to come hard at us because physically they are built and organised. We were also organised, but by giving away two cheap goals, we made life difficult for ourselves,” he added.
With Ghana’s qualification hopes still alive, the coach identified defensive improvement as the team’s immediate priority ahead of their next fixture.
“We need to quickly fix that problem. Going into the next game, we’ll be working on our defence and making sure we avoid the mistakes we made today.”
Despite the defeat, Konadu believes there were positives to build on from the performance and urged his players to learn from the experience.
“At any given time, you still have to maintain your defensive structure. When you go into transition and cannot recover quickly, it becomes a problem. You have to remain resolute in the heat of the contest and cope with the intensity of the game,” he said.
He also blamed lapses in concentration for some of the goals conceded while calling for patience with the young squad.
“The players lost concentration at certain moments. They have been told to always be aware of their surroundings before going into tackles. But these are also young players, so we have to understand. We’ll work on it and bounce back.”
The Black Satellites will now focus on their crucial Group B clash against Burkina Faso on Thursday before concluding the group stage against Togo.
