The defeat at the 4th August Stadium in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, ends Ghana's hopes of reaching next year's continental tournament, which will be hosted by Morocco.

Ghana's task became more difficult in the 18th minute when Daniel Owusu was sent off, leaving the Black Starlets to play the majority of the contest with 10 men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Kassim Ocansey’s side showed resilience and managed to keep the Ivorians at bay for much of the encounter.

However, Ivory Coast eventually broke the deadlock in the 77th minute, scoring the only goal of the match to secure their place in the final and qualification for the 2027 U17 AFCON.

The defeat is a disappointing end to Ghana's campaign after an encouraging group-stage performance in which they finished top of Group A with seven points from three matches.

The Black Starlets began the competition with a 1-0 victory over Togo before beating Benin 3-1, with Alidu Issah scoring twice. They then drew 0-0 with hosts Burkina Faso to complete the group stage unbeaten.

Ghana had entered the semi-final knowing that victory would guarantee qualification for the continental tournament, but they were unable to overcome their West African rivals.

The setback also extends Ghana’s wait for a return to the FIFA U17 World Cup. The Black Starlets last featured at the tournament in 2017, meaning their absence from the 2027 U17 AFCON leaves them without a route to qualify for the next edition of the global competition through this campaign.

Ghana, two-time winners of the FIFA U17 World Cup in 1991 and 1995, will now have to wait for another qualifying cycle to end their prolonged absence from the global stage.