2025 U-20 AFCON: Ghana fails to secure World Cup qualification for fourth consecutive time after Egy

Ghana has failed to qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup again. This marks the fourth consecutive time they missed out. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations by Egypt.

The Black Satellites lost 5-4 in a penalty shootout. The match ended 2-2 after regular time at Suez Stadium. Coach Desmond Ofei made changes to his lineup from their previous game. Jerry Afriyie started, while Abdul Hakim Sulemana was benched.

Ghana had most of the possession early on but made defensive errors. Egypt capitalized on these mistakes within the first 30 minutes. Moamen Sherif Abdalla scored twice for Egypt, taking advantage of Ghana's blunders.

Sherif Abdalla opened the scoring in the 19th minute. He then doubled Egypt's lead seven minutes later, leaving fans excited. Despite being down two goals, Ghana fought back with strong attacks.

Abdul Aziz Issah scored just before halftime, making it 2-1. In the second half, Ofei substituted three players to boost offense. The changes helped Ghana apply pressure on Egypt’s defense.

However, Egyptian goalkeeper Abdelmonem Tamer made crucial saves against Ghanaian shots. He denied attempts from Issah, Musibau, and Joseph Opoku effectively. In stoppage time, Ghana earned a penalty that Abdul Hakim Sulemana converted.

This goal sent the match into extra time at 2-2. During extra time, Aaron Essel received a second yellow card and was sent off. The match remained scoreless through extra time and went to penalties.

Egypt won the shootout 5-4 and advanced to the semi-finals. With this defeat, Ghana misses out on the FIFA U20 World Cup again. Their last appearance was in 2015 in New Zealand.

The next FIFA U20 World Cup will take place in Chile from September 27 to October 19, 2025.