Black Starlets head coach Kassim Ocansey says Ghana will maintain their competitive approach when they face hosts Burkina Faso in their final Group A match at the WAFU B U17 Championship, despite having already secured qualification for the semi-finals.
Ghana will take on Burkina Faso at the 4th August Stadium after winning their opening two matches against Togo and Benin to book a place in the last four with a game to spare.
Although Ocansey is considering changes to his starting line-up to manage the players’ workload ahead of the knockout stage, he insists the team will not approach the fixture with complacency.
“We take every game very competitive and our focus is to win all our games. We are focused on what brought us here. It doesn’t matter whether we’ve qualified or not,” he said.
The coach explained that protecting his players’ fitness would be a key consideration as Ghana prepare for the semi-finals, but stressed that any changes would not affect the team’s determination to compete.
“You may not see all our players starting but we will still be competitive. We can’t risk our players because we will need fresh legs for the semi-final but we will not be complacent against Burkina Faso,” Ocansey added.
Ghana is also pursuing qualification for the 2027 U17 Africa Cup of Nations, making the tournament an important test of the team’s progress and ambitions.
