Black Maidens coach Joe Nana Adarkwa has praised his players after they secured qualification for the Round of 16 at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

Ghana booked their place in the knockout stage with a 2-0 victory over Canada in their final Group C match, recovering from a difficult start to the tournament.

The Black Maidens suffered a 3-0 defeat to Norway in their opening game before battling to an entertaining 3-3 draw against Brazil, leaving them needing a positive result against Canada to progress.

Speaking after the victory, an elated Adarkwa said the team was delighted to have achieved its objective.

“We are happy. You can see on the front; the girls are happy. As a coach, I’m very, very happy, and they made us proud, they made us extremely proud,” he said.

“We came here purposely for a win, and lo and behold, it happened. So, this is what we planned for.”

Adarkwa also praised his technical team, highlighting the impact of his second-half substitutions in helping Ghana secure the crucial victory.

“At least in the second half, our changes were wonderful. Our changes, we did well. I’m proud of myself and my technical team,” he added.

The Black Maidens will now turn their attention to their Round of 16 encounter against Argentina on 28 October, with Adarkwa acknowledging that the challenges will become tougher as the competition progresses.

“Going forward, I know we are heading to difficult times. We are going to face tougher opposition, and we are going to work towards that,” he concluded.

Ghana will be hoping to maintain their momentum against Argentina as they seek to advance further in the tournament.