Black Starlets head coach, Dr. Prosper Narteh Ogum, has expressed optimism ahead of his side’s semi-final clash with Nigeria in the ongoing WAFU Zone B U17 Boys Championship in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

The highly anticipated encounter, set for Tuesday evening at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium, will not only decide a finalist but also hand the winner an automatic ticket to the U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco next year.

Addressing the media on the eve of the match, Dr. Ogum said his players are in the right frame of mind to deliver a strong performance against their arch-rivals. “We feel good. Everyone is okay and the common spirit of the team is very high and the boys are confident and each of them is very ready to get the results to book a place for the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.

The Black Starlets overcame a shaky start to the tournament, drawing with Togo and losing to Ivory Coast before bouncing back to defeat Niger 3-1 to secure qualification to the semi-finals. Dr. Ogum admitted his side had made mistakes in their earlier games but stressed that those issues have since been addressed.

“In terms of the errors we committed in our previous games, we have identified them through video sessions and we’ve worked on them so we expect that there will be an improvement over the defensive shape that you saw in our previous games,” he explained.

Watch FULL VIDEO of the pre-match press conference here 👇🏼

The stakes high and a Ghana-Nigeria rivalry adds extra intensity, but the Starlets will be hoping to rise to the occasion and secure Ghana’s place at next year’s continental youth competition.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. GMT in Yamoussoukro.

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