Black Starlets captain Issah Abdul Rafiu says they are determined to claim the bronze medal at the 2026 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship when they face hosts Burkina Faso in Friday’s third-place playoff.

The Starlets will be looking to bounce back from their painful 1-0 semi-final defeat to Ivory Coast, which ended their hopes of reaching the final and securing qualification for the 2027 U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

With the continental ticket now out of reach, Issah insists the team remain motivated to finish the tournament with a medal and have identified areas they must improve to overcome Burkina Faso.

“We’re very determined to win the bronze medal because we played with them [Burkina Faso] at the group stage which ended 0-0 but I think we can do better tomorrow [Friday].”

The two sides previously met in their final Group A fixture, where they played out a goalless draw. Ghana had already secured qualification for the semi-finals and made seven changes to their starting lineup for that encounter.

Issah revealed that the Black Starlets intend to adopt a more aggressive approach in the rematch, with the captain calling on his teammates to put greater pressure on their opponents and make better use of their scoring opportunities.

“In our first game with them, we’re more relaxed and wanted to keep the ball more but we will put more pressure on them and attack them more so we can take our chances and win the game to go home with the bronze medal.”

The Black Starlets finished top of Group A with seven points after victories over Togo and Benin, followed by the draw against Burkina Faso. However, their semi-final loss to Ivory Coast, following an early red card to defender Daniel Owusu, denied them the opportunity to qualify for the AFCON through the tournament.

Friday’s encounter at the 4th August Stadium in Ouagadougou offers Ghana a chance to end their campaign on a positive note.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS