Black Maidens head coach Joe Nana Adarkwah says his side must qualify for the semi-finals after beating Argentina 5-4 on penalties to advance to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The Black Maidens produced a heroic display, holding on with 10 players after Hajara Adam was sent off with 13 minutes to go, before Jessica Appiah converted the winning penalty.

Speaking after the game with his voice hoarse from celebrations, Coach Adarkwah expressed pride in his players:

“Matches like this, it’s not easy. So, after winning it, you have to celebrate. You can see that I’ve lost my voice because of the celebration. So, I’m very happy and I’m proud for the girls. We have done well.

“Yeah, we controlled the game from the start until the red card. But tactically, the girls played to the instructions until they equalised. Let’s thank God that we won the match through penalties. We are happy about the win.”

Looking ahead to the quarter-finals, Coach Adarkwah was bullish about Ghana’s chances:

“We are waiting for our next opponent, and we will deal with them, whatever it is. We have to qualify to the semi-finals.”