Ghana Under-17 coach Fabin Samuel stated that his side paid the price for not taking the chances which came their way. They suffered a 1-0 defeat against USMNT in their second Group A fixture of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
“I think the last time we trained; we had a good scoring session. Maybe we need to keep working. If you have seen this game, we could have won by a wider margin. We had so many chances. If you miss chances, you get punished,” said Samuel.
Abdul Yusuf was stretchered off towards the closing stages of the game as Ghana were down to 10 after having used all their substitutes. “He has been sent to hospital because he lost consciousness. He has been sent for a proper medical check-up.”
On being asked if the heat and humidity was a factor, Samuel said, “Maybe it has an effect but then we have trained physically. We are very strong except that you get the advantage and don’t take your chances, then you lose the match like we did.”
Ghana next face India on the 12th in what will be a crucial game for the African giants. “We have to beat India and qualify. Now it’s critical that we need to win to get the qualification ticket. We will work more on goal scoring. We create opportunities but don’t take them. Once we get it right, the goals will flow.”