Ghana

Confederation – CAF (Africa)

FIFA Code – GHA

Nickname(s) – The Black Starlets

Tournament History

Ghana has a bright history in FIFA U-17 World Cup. It has played in eight editions (excluding 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup), Ghana had reached semi-finals for the six times (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2007). Out of those, they had become finalists for the four times (1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997) as they had won the crown for twice (1991 and 1995). After missing out in the last four consecutive editions, it is their ninth participation in this youth tournament.

Year	Hosts	Final Status
1989	Scotland	Group Stage
*1991*	*Italy*	*Champions*
1993	Japan	Runners-Up
*1995*	*Ecuador*	*Champions*
1997	Egypt	Runners-Up
1999	New Zealand	Third Place
2005	Peru	Group Stage
2007	South Korea	Fourth Place

(Note: The best performance(s) is/are marked in bold and italic)

Present Status (for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup)

i) The Journey: Ghana has qualified for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup through the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, where they had finished as a runner-up after losing the final match against Mali by 1-0.

ii) Head Coach: After taking the charge, Samuel Paa Kwasi Fabin (Nationality – Ghana) has guided well this junior national team to qualify for the upcoming U-17 World Cup. His current focus is to recreate the old Champions status during the upcoming tournament.

iii) Full Squad: Goalkeepers: Danlad Ibrahim, Michael Acquaye, Kwame Aziz

Defenders: Najeeb Yakubu, Gideon Mensah, Bismark Owusu, Edmund Arko-Mensah, Abdul Yusif, Gideon Acquah, Rashid Alhassan, John Otu

Midfielders: Isaac Gyamfi, Gabriel Leveh, Ibrahim Sulley, Kudus Mohammed, Emmanuel Toku, Mohammed Iddriss, Sadiq Ibrahim

Forwards: Eric Ayiah, Richard Danso, Aminu Mohammed

iv) Player(s) To Watch Out:

Eric Ayiah (Present Club – Charity Stars FC)

Eric Ayiah had scored four goals during the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, where Ghana had finished as a runner-up. Many top European clubs have shown interest in him, including Manchester City, Bayern Munich, etc.

Emmanuel Toku (Present Club – Cheetah FC)

Young attacking midfielder Emmanuel Toku has already scored eight goals since his debut for Ghana U-17. He is one of player to watch out during 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.