{"id":365176,"date":"2017-10-25T19:35:10","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T19:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=365176"},"modified":"2017-10-25T19:35:10","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T19:35:10","slug":"koranteng-writes-whats-the-next-step-for-the-black-starlets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/10\/koranteng-writes-whats-the-next-step-for-the-black-starlets\/","title":{"rendered":"Koranteng writes: What\u2019s the next step for the Black Starlets?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Following Ghana’s exit from the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India, Citi Sports<\/strong>‘ Daniel Koranteng assesses what could have gone wrong and urges the nation to plan for the future with the players at the heart of a transition.<\/em><\/p>\n
Ghana’s Black Starlets have arrived home after their FIFA U-17 World Cup outing which saw them fall out at the quarterfinals to familiar rivals and African champions Mali.<\/p>\n
Contrary to popular opinion, I feel there are a lot of positives to take away from this tournament.<\/p>\n
It is usually difficult to demand the ultimate prize at this stage of football because it is mostly about development and experience gained rather than ultimate success.<\/p>\n
I am not saying the spirit of winning should not be instilled in our players but I believe it’s too early to set such high targets for the team.<\/p>\n
I saw the Starlets at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year and I must say I saw a vast improvement not only in their game-play but also in the body language and general approach.<\/p>\n
The team began the African Championships in blistering fashion scoring 9 goals and conceding none in their opening two games and then went on a scoreless run until the end of the tournament where they were beaten 1-0 by Mali in the final.<\/p>\n