Adarkwa: Ghana will make a plan for Diz

Ghana coach Joe Nana Adarkwa arrives for his exclusive interview with FIFA in what is now trademark fashion: smiling, laughing and enjoying his surroundings at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026™.

He is preparing to lead his team out in a last-16 battle with Argentina on Wednesday. It's a match which would have felt like a distant dream when his side were 2-0 down inside 13 minutes of their opener with Norway.

"Our game against Norway was a bit different because the platform was very new to the girls," he said. "They are newcomers, they are young, they didn't know what to do. So, after the first match, we sat down with them, we talked to them, we encouraged them, and we got back."

They faced Brazil next and were a goal down by the seventh minute for a second match running. Instead of crumbling, though, the Africans fought back and took the lead, before eventually drawing 3-3 in arguably the most entertaining match of the groups. It's that steely determination that Adarkwa is most proud of.

"In a game situation like this, the opposition can score in a split-second, but you have to recover," he added. "We spoke all the time with the players concerning the game and told them that's how football is. I've known them for the past two years, so I know what they can do at any given time."

Buoyed by that draw, Ghana flew into their final match with Canada knowing only a win would send them through to the knockouts, while the North Americans could make do with a draw. They went on to win 2-0 and Adarkwa believes Ghana's progress was confirmed before a ball was kicked.

"When we were in camp, you could see from their faces that we didn't have to go home and that we'd win the game and stay. And lo and behold, it happened.

"We praised them because, for our girls, you have to praise them all the time before you let them know their mistakes. We gave them some incentives to boost their morale and now you can see that everything is on top, their spirit is on top. We'll wait and see what happens in Wednesday's game."

Argentina stand between Ghana and a fifth straight quarter-final, and Adarkwa believes facing their near-neighbours Brazil could act as the perfect dress rehearsal.

"I can see that Argentinians play like Brazilians," he stated. "We are going to intensify the approach we took against Brazil and push harder. South American teams play like Ghanaians; we always get the ball down and play.

"Because this is the knockout phase, when they score, you have to pack everything and go back home. So we are going to approach this match in a different way, different mentality, everything. We are going to push, push, push until the end of the game."

Adarkwa and Co are more than aware that forward Mercedes Diz is undoubtedly Argentina's danger woman, having scored six goals already, including a hat-trick last time out versus Morocco. But Ghana know if they can keep La Albiceleste's No9 quiet, they have more than a shot at a quarter-final with either Japan or Kenya.

"We have to be careful about that," he said. "When we were going to play the Canadians, we saw that their No9 (Reed Tingley) is one of the best strikers. So we planned for her, we told the girls, and she couldn't score. So we are going to work on that girl and be very careful with her. We are going to watch the clips and then we'll plan for what we can do with her.

"The game will be very, very, very tricky. They are a good side and we are in the knockout phase, so we are going to be very cautious. We have to take our chances because we are one of the teams in this tournament that have created a lot of chances, but how to convert them is another problem. So we're looking forward to it but we have to be cautious in our back line so that they won't catch us.”