Ghana’s Black Maidens began their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 campaign with a 3-0 defeat by Norway in their Group C opening match on Sunday.
Norway scored twice in the first 13 minutes before Maia Melgard added her second goal of the game in the 80th minute to secure victory for the European side.
The result leaves Ghana needing positive results in their remaining group fixtures against Brazil and Canada to keep their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive.
Norway took control early, with Lapore opening the scoring in the sixth minute after receiving a pass from Nesse.
The European side maintained their attacking pressure and extended their lead seven minutes later. Nesse again provided the assist, setting up Melgard to make it 2-0 and put Ghana in a difficult position before the match had reached its quarter-hour mark.
The Black Maidens struggled to contain Norway’s attacking movement during the opening exchanges and were forced to reorganise after conceding the two early goals.
Ghana showed greater attacking ambition as the contest progressed, particularly after the interval, as they attempted to reduce the deficit and return to the game.
However, their efforts to get back into the match were frustrated by two unsuccessful penalty appeals, both of which were reviewed using the video assistant referee (VAR) system.
The first incident occurred in the 73rd minute when Appiah moved into the Norwegian penalty area and delivered a cross that appeared to strike an opponent’s arm.
Ghana appealed for a spot-kick, but after a VAR review, the referee upheld the original decision not to award a penalty.
Norway then took advantage of Ghana’s attacking approach to score a third goal seven minutes later.
A counter-attack in the 80th minute ended with Melgard completing her brace after being set up by M. Hoem. The forward finished calmly to give Norway a commanding 3-0 lead and effectively settle the contest.
Ghana’s frustration continued in stoppage time when the referee again declined to award a penalty following a VAR review.
The second appeal followed a potential foul on Gyekyewaa inside the penalty area, but the decision went against the Black Maidens, who finished the match without scoring.
The victory gives Norway a strong start to their Group C campaign, while Ghana must now turn their attention to their remaining matches in the competition.
The West African side will need to improve their defensive organisation after conceding twice in the opening 13 minutes. They will also be looking for greater effectiveness in attack as they seek to make the most of their remaining opportunities.
With two group matches still to play, Ghana’s immediate task is to recover from the defeat and secure results against Brazil and Canada.
Although the opening loss has complicated their route to the knockout stage, the Black Maidens still have an opportunity to revive their campaign in the remaining fixtures.
