Ghana and South Africa will renew their rivalry as the Black Princesses clash with their South African counterparts in the 1st leg of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday. The Black Princesses qualified for this round after a 4-0 aggregate win over Tunisia, while South Africa hammered Eswatini 9-0 over two legs to book a date against Ghana.
South Africa, otherwise known as Basetsana, scored 5 goals in the 1st leg before wrapping up a comprehensive victory against Eswatini with a 4-0 win – setting the tone for a cagey encounter against the Black Princesses in this stage of the qualifiers.
Ghana goes into the match without top scorer Mercy Attobrah, who scored two goals against Tunisia in Sfax before adding her third in the qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium. The Al Ahly Women forward will miss the match against South Africa due to an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury that will keep her on the sidelines for the rest of the season. However, the team will count on the experience of China based Mary Amponsah in this encounter. The lanky attacker is one of the most experienced players in the team having played at the 2024 tournament in Colombia.
“Our mission is to go to the World Cup, so it really doesn’t matter if we play South Africa at home first or away. But now we have a home game, so our intention is to take advantage of it. It is our home, and with our supporters behind us, we are expecting – and we hope – that we take advantage of it, so that we go to South Africa with a bit of an advantage,” Sampson said.
“South Africa is also a team that plays almost like us – a bit of free-flowing football – which makes me look forward to it, because it looks like it’s going to be an interesting game. We are playing at home first, so we want to get this support and get a massive win to be able to carry it to Johannesburg. So, we hope that Ghanaians will come and support us the way we want them to,” Charles Sampson told ghanafa.org ahead of the match.
South Africa boasts a blend of talented youth who are based at home and abroad, and their relentlessness in recent Cup competitions in the South African sub-region makes them a force. Asanda Mchuni, Cinderella Mibe, Nobahle Mdelwa, Anele Douglas, and Thato Mofolo, just to mention a few, are players who have distinguished themselves in the team’s recent performances.
Ghana must deal with South Africa first before having any chance of qualifying for the next tournament scheduled for Poland.
This high-profile match, scheduled for a 3:30pm kick-off, will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
