Black Maidens draw Brazil, Canada and Norway in Group C as Ghana return to FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup stage • Sahara Soccer

Ghana’s Black Maidens have been handed a difficult task on the FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup Morocco 2026, after being drawn in Group C alongside soccer powerhouses Brazil, Canada and Norway.

The event, scheduled for October 17 to November 7, 2026, in Morocco, will deliver collectively 24 nations from six confederations competing for the worldwide title.

The Black Maidens return to the competitors after lacking the earlier two editions on account of a CAF sanction in 2022. Ghana was suspended from the following two editions of the U17 Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which additionally dominated them out of FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup qualification, and was fined $100,000.

The sanction adopted a profitable protest by the Moroccan Soccer Federation, which alleged age violations involving two Ghanaian gamers. The Ghana Soccer Affiliation reviewed the proof however opted to not enchantment the ruling. After serving the suspension interval, the Black Maidens have now made their return to worldwide competitors.

Ghana secured their ticket to Morocco 2026 after a dramatic qualification marketing campaign, defeating Senegal 7-6 on penalties following a 2-2 combination scoreline within the closing spherical.

Group C Opponents

Brazil

Brazil enter the event as probably the most skilled groups in Ghana’s group. The South People have certified for the FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup eight occasions and achieved their best-ever end within the competitors on the 2025 version, the place they positioned fourth.

Brazil had beforehand reached the quarter-finals in 2010, 2012 and 2022, and might be aiming to enhance on their latest progress in Morocco.

Canada

Canada will make their ninth look on the FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup.

On the 2025 event, Canada produced a formidable marketing campaign, recording an ideal group-stage document earlier than defeating Zambia within the Spherical of 16. Their run ended within the quarter-finals in opposition to Brazil after a goalless draw was determined by penalties.

With their consistency at youth degree, Canada will pose one other main check for the Black Maidens.

Norway

Norway might be showing at solely their second FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup after making their debut on the 2025 version.

Their first marketing campaign proved troublesome, as they misplaced all three group-stage matches, however qualification for Morocco 2026 presents a chance for the European aspect to make a stronger impression on the worldwide stage.

A New Chapter for the Black Maidens

The FIFA U17 Girls’s World Cup has been a historic event for Ghana, who first appeared within the competitors in 2008.

The Black Maidens’ finest efficiency got here in 2012 in Azerbaijan, the place they gained a historic bronze medal after defeating Germany 1-0 within the third-place playoff.

They’ve additionally reached the quarter-finals in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022, establishing themselves as certainly one of Africa’s strongest groups at youth degree.

After overcoming a troublesome interval away from worldwide competitors, Ghana now faces a demanding group that includes three groups with sturdy World Cup expertise.

The Black Maidens will hope their return to the worldwide stage can mark the start of one other memorable chapter in Ghana’s girls’s soccer historical past.