The Black Satellites reached the FIFA U-20 World Cup final in their 1st appearance in Australia 1993 (Australia 1993 U-20 html Stats here), catching many teams on the hop with their lightning changes of pace. In fact, nine of the 22 players in the "Black Satellites'" squad had lifted the FIFA U-17 World Championship two years earlier, so their performance could only really be considered a half-surprise. Still they were a joy to watch: enterprising and unpredictable.[1] They repeated the feat in 2001 succumbing to Tournament Hosts Argentina in the Final. Previously in 1997, they had lost 3-2 on a golden goal to Uruguay in Extra Time of the World Cup Semi Final. In 1999 eventual Champions Spain eliminated Ghana in the Quarter Final on sudden death penalty kicks after a 1-1 tied game.
What makes Ghana's footballers so dominant in their age group? FIFA Magazine[2] asked Otto Pfister. Football is not simply the most popular sport in this part of Africa, it is an absolute religion, he said. This is the way the game is regarded in Ghana. Young boys here think about football 24 hours a day and play for at least eight – whether on clay, rough fields or dusty streets. They develop their skills naturally, without any specific training, and end up with superb technique and ability on the ball. They are also fast and tricky, and can feint well with their bodies. Africa and South America have by far the best young footballers in the world – on a technical level they are superb. And technique is what it takes to make a good player.[citation needed]
What else goes towards making Ghana so strong? Otto Pfister continues; In Africa there is often only one way for many young lads to escape from poverty and to make their way up the social scale – football. Youngsters want to become stars and to play in a top European league. That is their main aim and they will do anything to achieve it. Let me give you an example: While I was coaching in Ghana I once told my team to be ready for training at three o'clock in the morning. At half past two they were all assembled and ready to go. They want to learn and they want to play for the national team. They know that in their country a national team player is a hero and enjoys a level of prestige that is not comparable to that in Europe. Another positive point for young players in Ghana is that there are many good coaches in the country who help develop the available talent and above all want to let them play. This policy pays off.[3] Today, many Ghanaian youngsters are in G14 Club Academies in Europe.[citation needed]
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football. The team is named the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association, the governing body for football in Ghana. Prior to 1957, it played as the Gold Coast.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when it was hosted by Tunisia under the tournament name of FIFA World Youth Championship until 2005. In 2007 the name was changed to its present form. FIFA bills the men's Under-20 World Cup as "the tournament of tomorrow's superstars." Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba are previous winners of the official player of the tournament award, and Erling Haaland was the top scorer at the 2019 edition. The current title holder is Uruguay, which won its first title at the 2023 tournament in Argentina.
Asamoah Gyan is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a former captain of the Ghana national team.
Otto Martin Pfister is a German football manager and one of Germany's most successful coaching exports, voted Africa's Manager of the Year in 1992. He is formerly the manager of the Afghanistan national team.
Association football is the most popular sport in Ghana. Since 1957, the sport has been administered by the Ghana Football Association. Internationally, Ghana is represented by the male Black Stars and the female Black Queens. The top male domestic football league in Ghana is the Ghana Premier League, and the top female domestic football league in Ghana is the Ghana Women's Football League.
The Ghana national U-17 football team, known as the Black Starlets, is the youngest team that represents Ghana in football. They are two-time FIFA U-17 World Cup Champions in 1991 and 1995 and a two-time Runner-up in 1993 and 1997. Ghana has participated in nine of the 17 World Cup events starting with their first in Scotland 1989 through dominating the competition in the 1990s where at one time they qualified for 4 consecutive World Cup finals in Italy 1991, Japan 1993, Ecuador 1995 and Egypt 1997 to their most recent participation in South Korea 2007 where they lost in the World Cup Semi-finals 1–2 to Spain in extra time.
Daniel Tawiah Opare is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a right-back.
Dominic Adiyiah is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
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The Nigerian men's national under-20 football team represents Nigeria in men's international football also known as the Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed the Flying Eagles. The Flying Eagles is the youth team for the national soccer in Nigeria. It plays a large role in the development of Nigerian football, and is considered the feeder team for the senior team. It is controlled by the Nigerian Football Federation. The team has won a record seven African U-20 Cup of Nations titles and are also two-times runners-up of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Sellas Tetteh Teivi is a Ghanaian professional football coach and former player.
The Senegal national U-20 football team, nicknamed Les Lions de la Teranga is the feeder team for the Senegal national football team and is controlled by the Senegalese Football Federation. They are the current champions of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and their senior team are the current champions of the AFCON and the CHAN. The first time Senegal qualified for a World Cup was in 2015, where they managed to qualify for the semi-finals up until they lost against Brazil 5–0, their biggest defeat. They then went on to loss the third place match against fellow WAFU member Mali. Senegal ended up finishing in fourth place, their best performance in the tournament.
The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, known for short as the U-20 AFCON and for sponsorship purposes as TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, previously known as the African Youth Championship and the African U-20 Championship, is the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for its nations consisting of players under the age of 20. It serves as the African qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Ebenezer Kofi Assifuah-Inkoom is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Malaysia Super League club Kedah Darul Aman.
Eric Ofori Antwi is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Legon Cities in the Ghana Premier League. In 2013, coach Sellas Tetteh called him up as a number one goalkeeper and to be a member of the Ghana national under-20 football team for the 2013 African Youth Championship and for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Seidu Salifu is a Ghanaian footballer who last played for Ümraniyespor in Turkey after a short spell at Adana Demirspor Formerly of Club Africain in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1, he plays as a midfielder. In 2013, coach Sellas Tetteh called him up to be a member of the Ghana Under 20 national team for the 2013 African Youth Championship in Algeria, and he was a member of the Ghana Under 20 national team for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. In March 2015, he got his debut call up into Ghana national football team.
Kennedy Ashia is a Ghanaian professional footballer.
Kwame Boahene is a Ghanaian professional footballer. He plays for Asante Kotoko in the Glo Premier League of Ghana. He was part of the Ghana national U-20 team that won silver at the 2013 African Youth Championships and bronze at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Tournament. He plays as a winger/ attacking midfielder or second striker.
Gambia national under-20 football team is the U-20 football team of the Gambia and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. It serves as the youth team and feeder team of the Gambia national football team. They are nicknamed The Young Scorpions.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Swiss Super League club Zürich.
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Gambia 1 – 0 
Ghana 
Mali 
Algeria 3 – 0 
Colombia 4 – 1 
Argentina 3 – 0 
1991 )
Winners (1993, 1999, 2009, 2021)
