Ghana national under-20 football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ghana women's national under-20 football team.

Ghana Under-20
NicknameThe Black Satellites
AssociationGhana Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachDesmond Sakyi Ofei
FIFA codeGHA
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Gambia 1 – 0  Ghana
(Banjul, Gambia; 9 September 1984)
Biggest win
 Ghana 6 – 0  Mali
(Accra, Ghana; 11 November 1990)
Biggest defeat
 Algeria 3 – 0  Ghana
(Algiers, Algeria; 27 August 1988)
 Colombia 4 – 1  Ghana
(Le Pontet, France; 29 May 2000)
 Argentina 3 – 0  Ghana
(Buenos Aires, Argentina; 8 July 2001)
U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances10 (first in Third Place 1991)
Best resultChampion Winners (1993, 1999, 2009, 2021)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1993)
Best resultChampions (2009)
Ghana national under-20 football team
Medal record
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1993 Australia Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Argentina Team
Gold medal – first place 2009 Egypt Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Turkey Team

Ghana national U-20 football team known as the Black Satellites, is considered to be the feeder team for the Ghana national football team. They are the former FIFA U-20 World Cup Champions and U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Champions. They have also been a four-time African Champion in 1995, 1999, 2009, 2021 and a two-time Runner-up at the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1993, 2001 and finished third in 2013. Ghana has participated in only six of the past 19 World Cup events starting with their first in Australia 1993 where they lost the World Cup final 1-2 to Brazil in Sydney and in Argentina 2001 where they lost the World Cup final 0-3 to Argentina in Buenos Aires. Incredibly, in 32 FIFA World Cup matches, Ghana has not lost a game in regulation below the Semi Final level of the FIFA U20 World Cup. They however failed to qualify for 3 consecutive events in UAE 2003, Netherlands 2005 and Canada 2007 until they made the Egypt 2009 Tournament.

They won the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt after defeating Brazil 4-3 on Penalties when the match ended (0-0) after extra time. This was the first time an African country won the FIFA U-20 World Cup Championship.

Superb young players

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.

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.

Competitive Record

FIFA U-20 World Cup Record

Ghana national u-21 team before the friendly match with Bulgarian V AFG side Slivnishki Geroi (1-1), 18-11-2010, Slivnitsa, Bulgaria.
Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
Tunisia 1977 did not participate
Japan 1979
Australia 1981
Mexico 1983 Withdrew
Soviet Union 1985 did not qualify
Chile 1987 Disqualified
Saudi Arabia 1989 did not qualify
Portugal 1991
Australia 1993 Runners-up 6 3 2 1 11 6
Qatar 1995 did not qualify
Malaysia 1997 Fourth place 7 4 1 2 12 8
Nigeria 1999 Quarter finals 5 3 2* 0 8 2
Argentina 2001 Runners-up 7 5 1 1 8 5
United Arab Emirates 2003 did not qualify
Netherlands 2005
Canada 2007
Egypt 2009 Champions 7 5 2* 0 16 8
Colombia 2011 did not qualify
Turkey 2013 Third Place 7 4 0 3 16 12
New Zealand 2015 Round of 16 4 2 1 1 5 6
South Korea 2017 did not qualify
Poland 2019
Argentina 2023
Chile 2025
AzerbaijanUzbekistan 2027 to be determined
Total 7/25 43 26 9 8 76 47

Team honours and awards

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations between 27 April – 18 May 2025.[4]

Caps and goals correct as of 5 May 2025, after the match against Senegal

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Gidios Aseako (2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 2 0 Ghana Football Association Dreams
16 1GK Yakubu Saeed (2006-12-31) 31 December 2006 2 0 Ghana Football Association Medeama
21 1GK Patrick Arthur 0 0 Ghana Football Association Nsuopun Fidelity
4 2DF Dacosta Antwi (2007-03-06) 6 March 2007 4 0 Ghana Football Association Young Apostles
5 2DF Nana Kwame Boakye (2005-12-05) 5 December 2005 0 0 Moldovan Football Federation Sheriff Tiraspol
17 2DF Denis Marfo (2006-01-28) 28 January 2006 2 0 Brazilian Football Confederation Internacional
18 2DF Maxwell Azafokpe 5 0 Ghana Football Association Tudu Mighty Jets
3 3MF McCarthy Ofori (2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 3 0 Albanian Football Federation Bylis
6 3MF Kelvin Ahiable (2005-06-24) 24 June 2005 1 0 Ghana Football Association Dreams
8 3MF Ishmael Addo (2006-12-23) 23 December 2006 3 0 Ghana Football Association Heart of Lions
9 3MF Lord Afrifa (2006-06-05) 5 June 2006 2 0 Austrian Football Association Sturm Graz
14 3MF Aaron Essel (2005-07-30) 30 July 2005 8 0 United States Soccer Federation North Texas
23 3MF Hayford Boahen (2005-12-14) 14 December 2005 3 1 Ghana Football Association Cheetah
25 3MF Joseph Aidoo (2005-02-19) 19 February 2005 2 0 Romanian Football Federation Sănătatea Cluj
2 4FW Michael Amer 0 0 Ghana Football Association Nice Ibrahim
7 4FW Emmanuel Mensah (2005-06-18) 18 June 2005 2 1 Norwegian Football Federation Sogndal
10 4FW Aziz Issah (2005-11-20) 20 November 2005 2 0 Royal Spanish Football Federation Barcelona
11 4FW Jerry Afriyie (2006-12-10) 10 December 2006 4 0 Royal Spanish Football Federation Lugo
12 4FW Joseph Opoku (2005-08-08) 8 August 2005 2 0 Royal Belgian Football Association Zulte Waregem
13 4FW George Tei Nagadzi (2005-10-14) 14 October 2005 0 0 Ghana Football Association Vision
15 4FW Andrews Adjabeng (2006-03-04) 4 March 2006 5 0 Royal Spanish Football Federation Real Sociedad
19 4FW Musibau Aziz (2006-12-30) 30 December 2006 3 1 Ghana Football Association Dreams
20 4FW Hakim Sulemana (2005-02-19) 19 February 2005 3 0 Danish Football Association Randers
22 4FW Clinton Duodu (2005-06-20) 20 June 2005 0 0 Cyprus Football Association Apollon Limassol

Previous squads

Notable players

The following list consist of previous Ghana U-20 national team players who have won or were influential at the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the Ghana U-20 national team or the FIFA U-17 World Cup with the Ghana U-17 national team, and those who were part of the Ghana U-23 national team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The list also includes the players who have graduated from the Ghana U-20 national team and gone on to represent the senior Ghana national team at the FIFA World Cup or African Cup of Nations:

Notable coaches

FIFA Tourney Manager name
Turkey 2013 Ghana Sellas Tetteh
Egypt 2009 Ghana Sellas Tetteh
Argentina 2001 Ghana Emmanuel Akwasi Afranie
Nigeria 1999 Italy Giuseppe Dossena
Malaysia 1997 Ghana Francis Oti Akenteng
Australia 1993 Ghana Fred Osam-Duodu

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup World Cup Winner Squad

 Ghana

Head coach: Ghana Sellas Tetteh

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Daniel Adjei (1989-11-10)10 November 1989 (aged 19) Ghana Football Association Liberty
2 2DF Samuel Inkoom (1989-06-01)1 June 1989 (aged 20) Swiss Football Association Basel
3 3MF Gladson Awako (1990-12-31)31 December 1990 (aged 18) Ghana Football Association Heart of Lions
4 2DF Jonathan Mensah (1990-07-13)13 July 1990 (aged 19) South African Football Association Free State Stars
5 2DF Daniel Addo (1989-09-03)3 September 1989 (aged 20) Ghana Football Association King Faisal
6 2DF David Addy (1990-02-21)21 February 1990 (aged 19) Portuguese Football Federation FC Porto
7 3MF Abeiku Quansah (1990-11-02)2 November 1990 (aged 18) French Football Federation Nice
8 3MF Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (1990-12-02)2 December 1990 (aged 18) Ghana Football Association Asante Kotoko
9 3MF Opoku Agyemang (1989-06-07)7 June 1989 (aged 20) Qatar Football Association Al-Sadd
10 3MF André Ayew (c) (1989-12-17)17 December 1989 (aged 19) French Football Federation Marseille
11 4FW Latif Salifu (1990-08-01)1 August 1990 (aged 19) Ghana Football Association Liberty
12 2DF Ghandi Dassenu (1989-08-09)9 August 1989 (aged 20) Ghana Football Association Liberty
13 3MF Mohammed Rabiu (1989-12-31)31 December 1989 (aged 19) Ghana Football Association Liberty
14 2DF Daniel Opare (1990-10-18)18 October 1990 (aged 18) Royal Spanish Football Federation Real Madrid
15 2DF Philip Boampong (1990-01-01)1 January 1990 (aged 19) Ghana Football Association Arsenal
16 1GK Robert Dabuo (1990-11-10)10 November 1990 (aged 18) Ghana Football Association Wa All Stars
17 2DF John Benson (1991-08-27)27 August 1991 (aged 18) Qatar Football Association ASPIRE
18 4FW Ransford Osei (1990-12-05)5 December 1990 (aged 18) Ghana Football Association Medeama
19 2DF Bright Addae (1992-12-19)19 December 1992 (aged 16) Ghana Football Association Wa All Stars
20 4FW Dominic Adiyiah (1989-11-29)29 November 1989 (aged 19) Norwegian Football Federation Fredrikstad FK
21 1GK Joseph Addo (1990-11-02)2 November 1990 (aged 18) Ghana Football Association Sekondi Hasaacas

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Ghana's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Australia 1993: Brazil make it three". FIFA. 1 September 2001. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2001.
  2. ^ "Superb Young Players". FIFA. 1 September 2001. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2001.
  3. ^ "Ghana: talented players as far as the eye can see". FIFA. 17 September 2004. Archived from the original on 27 October 2004. Retrieved 17 September 2004.
  4. ^ "Coach Desmond Ofei has unveiled his squad to represent Ghana in Egypt". Facebook. Ghana Football Association. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
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