U17 AFCON: Prosper Ogum stresses mental readiness as Black Starlets brace for Senegal showdown

Black Starlets head coach Prosper Ogum has emphasised the need for mental and physical toughness as Ghana prepare for their second Group D match against Senegal at the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026.

His comments come after Ghana surrendered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 with Algeria in their opening fixture.

Ogum described the upcoming encounter as a high-intensity, high-tempo contest, warning that both teams will approach it with maximum urgency.

“A very close game, very hot game, high-tempo game. Temperament is going to be high, the tempo is going to be high, the intensity of the game is going to be high.

"So we need to get ready mentally. We need to get ready physically to run throughout the 90 minutes with and without the ball because if they lose, they are out of contention, out of the tournament and probably out of qualifying for the World Cup.

"Similarly, if we also don’t do well, if we also lose this game, it means that our chances will be in the hands of our last game, the opponents of the last game that we are going to play against, which is South Africa.

"And we don’t want to get into that stage. So we have to go all out. Mentally and physically we need to go all out. And if you look at the body language of the players, it’s clear that they are ready.”

Ghana will now aim to translate that readiness into performance when they face Senegal on May 17.