Black Princesses head coach Charles Sampson has praised his players for their strong response after Ghana secured a crucial 3-1 victory over South Korea at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
The win revived Ghana’s campaign and kept alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time in the history of their participation in the tournament.
Speaking to FIFA.com, Sampson expressed his delight with the performance and praised his players for displaying the identity and character he had demanded from them.
“I am extremely pleased. I am so happy with the players, how they showed up. The only thing we asked of them was to show up and to show their identity and that is what they brought into the game. It is very satisfying,” he said.
Ghana had suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Ecuador in their opening Group C encounter, making a positive response against South Korea essential to their hopes of progressing.
Sampson admitted the team needed to recover quickly from that setback and rise to the occasion.
“We had a bit of a shocker in the first game and we knew that we had to raise ourselves up so that we still have a chance of achieving our goal [of reaching the Round of 16 for the first time].”
The Black Princesses produced a much-improved display after the break, scoring twice within three minutes to take control of the contest.
Captain Sarah Nyarko opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with a superb long-range strike before Ivy Osei Owusu doubled Ghana’s advantage three minutes later.
Owusu showed excellent composure to cleverly scoop the ball over the advancing South Korean goalkeeper and give Ghana a commanding 2-0 lead.
Substitute Ruth Amponsah then put the result beyond doubt six minutes from the end of regulation time, adding Ghana’s third goal and sealing their first points of the tournament.
South Korea managed to score a consolation goal late in the game through substitute Yeju Beom, but Ghana held on to secure a valuable victory.
The Black Princesses will now turn their attention to their final Group C fixture against France on Friday, September 12, 2026, knowing that another positive result could secure their place in the Round of 16.
Sampson and his players will be hoping to build on the momentum from their victory over South Korea as they continue their quest to make history at the tournament.
