Ghana’s U20 side booked their place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations as Group C winners after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Central African Republic in Egypt.
Substitute Joseph Opoku settled a tense encounter with a composed finish just six minutes from time at the Suez Canal Stadium, rewarding Ghana’s patience after they had dominated much of the match without finding a breakthrough.
The result means Desmond Ofei’s side finish the group stage unbeaten with seven points from three matches – their best group-stage performance in the tournament since 2013.
Knowing a draw would be enough to progress, Ghana controlled possession against a Central African Republic team that needed victory to have any chance of advancing.
Despite creating several half-chances through the creative play of Aziz Issah and Andrews Adjabeng, the Black Satellites were frustrated until the 84th minute when Joseph Aidoo broke forward on the counter-attack before finding Opoku, who calmly slotted past the goalkeeper.
“This result was the reward for our patience and tactical discipline,” said Ghana coach Ofei after the match. “The boys showed maturity today, and now we look forward to the knockout stage with confidence.”
The Central African Republic, who reached the quarter-finals in 2021, exit the tournament with just one point from their three group matches.
In the group’s other fixture, Senegal defeated DR Congo 2-0 to join Ghana in the quarter-finals as Group C runners-up.
Ghana will now await the completion of the final round of group matches on Friday to discover their quarter-final opponents as they continue their quest for a record-extending fifth U20 AFCON title.
