Black Princesses confident of historic knockout qualification against France

Ghana’s Black Princesses are within touching distance of a historic place in the knockout stages of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, with head coach Charles Sampson confident his team can overcome France in their final Group C game.

The Black Princesses have three points from their opening two matches and know a victory against the French will secure their place in the knockout phase for the first time in the team’s history.

Sampson says his players have responded well in training and are ready for the decisive encounter.

"It was good, the energy was up again, the girls are ready. This practice was just tactical, about how we want to play. Yesterday, the response was very good as well, and so we are ready," he said as quoted by Ghana FA.

"We know what pressure entails, and that's what we've always been preparing for, so now it's just up to us to go out and deliver.

"We are hoping and praying that tomorrow will be our day."

The Ghana coach believes France's style presents similarities to his side but says the Black Princesses will look to exploit their physicality, pace, and technical ability.

"I see the French team as almost a bit similar to us when it comes to technique, but tactically they play a little bit of a low, mid-block and that is to deceive you to feel more comfortable and come up so they can use the spaces behind.

"Those are the things we will be mindful of. We also know that in terms of physicality, technique, and speed, we are a bit ahead of them, and we're going to try to use that as an advantage."

Sampson has made his objective clear, insisting Ghana must take control of the game and fight for the win that could send them into uncharted territory.

"Our expectation going into this game is to be able to dominate and win the game."

The Black Princesses will face France in their final Group C fixture at the Arena Sosnowiec at 16:00 GMT.

A win would guarantee Ghana a place in the knockout stages for the first time in the team's history.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.