Ghana U20 Handed Tricky AFCON U20 Draw, Set to Face Hosts Ivory Coast

• The Ghana U20 team have been drawn in Group A of the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast
• The Black Satellites return to the tournament with hopes of qualifying for the FIFA later this year
• Ghana, the only country from Africa to win the FIFA U20 World Cup, finished second at the WAFU Championship last year

The Black Satellites of Ghana have been drawn in a tough group ahead of the 2025 Africa u20 Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The former Africa U20 champions have been placed in Group A alongside hosts Ivory Coast, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The four teams will be joined by the qualifier from UNIFFAC 2 to make the group complete with five teams, as reported by CAF.

The Black Satellites are making a return to the competition for the first time since 2021.

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Ghana were crowned champions in their last appearance after beating Uganda in the final in Mauritania.

Meanwhile, Group B has African powerhouse Nigeria and two North African side Morocco and Egypt alongside South Africa.

In Group C, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia and Sierra Leone will square off.

The tournament will begin on April 26, 2025 and end on May 18, 2025.

Good group for Ghana

After the draw, YEN.com.gh spoke to journalist Labaran Ali, who believes the group should test the Black Satellites credentials.

"It is a good group for the team," he said. "The test will obviously be against the hosts, Ivory Coast, but it is a team we are familiar with. We beat them twice at the WAFU Cup, so Desmond Offei and his players know them well.

"However, this time we are playing at their backyard, which makes it tough. Also, every team at the AFCON U20 is motivated to qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup, which is very important for us, as Ghanaians.

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"While we place some respect on Ivory Coast, we cannot also ignore the likes of DR Congo and Tanzania. The Congolese side will be made of players born in Europe. This means we will be up against a technically good side."

Ghana U20 qualify for AFCON

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Black Satellites of Ghana have sealed qualification to the U20 Africa Cup of Nations next year, after securing a comeback victory over Ivory Coast at the WAFU Zone B Championship in Togo.

The Ghana U20 team came from a goal down to beat the Ivorians 2-1 in Lomé to reach the finals of the WAFU U20 Championship.

Ghana will be awaiting the winner of the game between Nigeria and Niger in the final of the zonal tournament.

Source: YEN.com.gh