Assistant coach of the Black Starlets, Nana Kweku Agyemang, says 'preparatory mistakes' were the reason behind their defeat against Nigeria.
Ghana's U-17 side suffered a 3-2 defeat in their 3rd and 4th playoff against the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria on Tuesday at the University of Ghana Stadium.
Speaking after the game, Kweku Agyemang said: "Throughout the tournament, we had weaknesses with the centre-backs; both centre-backs we had difficulties."
"If you take the second goal, for example, we've taught them to protect the middle of the penalty area which includes the other fullback. In this case, you saw both centre-backs moving out of those areas to try and protect the areas that the midfielders were supposed to.
"So preparatory mistakes cost us in terms of the way we defended against Nigeria," he added.
The defeat means any hopes of the Black Starlets making the 2025 U-17 AFCON are dashed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) insisting on a 12-team tournament.