Ghana Beat Argentina on Penalties to Reach FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Quarter-Finals

• Ghana's Black Maidens advanced to the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Argentina
• Jessica Appiah scored the opening goal and converted the decisive spot kick as the Maidens held their nerve despite finishing with 10 players
• Coach Nana Adarkwa's exciting side would face one of Japan or Kenya in the last eight of the competition

The Black Maidens of Ghana have progressed to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup after defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout on Wednesday, October 28.

FIFA U17 WWC: How Ghana beat Argentina

Jessica Appiah opened the scoring when Cynthia Obinsrewuo picked her out with a well-timed pass, and the forward finished confidently to give Ghana the advantage.

The Maidens came close to extending their lead when Obinsrewuo lobbed goalkeeper Bianca Virga after latching onto a long ball, but the effort was disallowed for offside.

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Watch Appiah's goal, as shared on X:

The contest shifted dramatically when midfielder Hajara Adam collected a second yellow card with 13 minutes left on the clock, leaving Ghana to defend their lead with a numerical disadvantage.

Argentina made the pressure count when Mercedes Diz produced a superb header from a looping free-kick, directing the ball over goalkeeper Belinda Marku Aklie to bring the scores level. Diz had earlier gone close when her effort struck the crossbar.

With neither side able to find a decisive blow in the remaining minutes, the match proceeded to a penalty shootout to determine who would advance.

Appiah fires Ghana into the quarter-finals

According to Ghanafa.org, the team held their composure throughout the shootout, with Appiah, Juliana Gyekyewaa, Rafia Osman, Christiana Ashiaku and Saraphina Essenam all converting their attempts.

Argentina's Oriana Gomez missed her penalty, handing Ghana the decisive advantage and completing a hard-fought victory.

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The result is a notable achievement for the young Ghanaian squad, who demonstrated considerable resilience in seeing out the win after conceding a late equaliser and completing the final stages of normal time a player short.

Coach Joe Nana Adarkwa's side now advance to the last eight of the tournament and will turn their focus to the quarter-finals, where they will face off against either Japan or Kenya.

Ghana beats Nigeria in WAFU U17 Cup

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghana’s Black Maidens defeated Nigeria to win the maiden edition of the WAFU U-17 Girls’ Cup in Accra.

The tournament was successfully hosted at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence.

Source: YEN.com.gh