Ghana in bid for cup

Match: Ghana-Argentina (World Youth Cup Finals)
Venue: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date/Time: Sunday, 8 July/ 15:45 local; 18:45GMT
TV Broadcast: UNIVISION (USA-Spanish Channel at 1:00 pm EST), DSF (Germany) TV2(Finland)

Ghana hope to improve on the performance of their predecessors and become the first African country to lift the World Under-20 Youth Cup.

They will meet the hosts, Argentina, in Buenos Aires this Sunday. However, the Argentines plan to undo the Ghanaian dream by winning the title for the fourth time after winning in 1975, 1995 and 1997. Led in attack by the Barcelona-bound, $US 22million Javier Saviola, the mere mention of Argentina will send shivers down the spine of any ambitious team, especially at this year's World Youth Championship.

With a total goal haul of 24 hosts Argentina stands out as the clear favourite in their titanic game on Sunday. The Argentine team kicked off the competition with a 2-0 win over Finland like their opponents, Ghana, who despite winning their first match fell short of a goal, beating Paraguay 2-1.

With an emphatic 7-1 drubbing of the Egyptian team in their second game, the Argentines revealed how deadly they could be when it comes to goal scoring. The Black Satellites on the other hand managed a 2-0 win over the same Egyptian side at the semi-finals.

Whereas they both maintained a hundred per cent record at the group stages, Argentina went a step further winning all their matches whilst Ghana drew its last match with France.

Interestingly, Argentina met France at the quarter-final stage and won 3-1. Ghana chalked a 2-1 victory over Paraguay at the Group stages; the host beat Paraguay 5-0 at the semi-finals stage to book a date with the Black Satellites in the finals.

Ghana to fight like Trojans

The Black Satellites have received a presidential message from Accra, urging them to fight like Trojans to win the World U20 Silver trophy. On Wednesday, the Ghanaians zoomed into the final of the World Youth Championship for the second time in eight years, after a 2-0 win over fellow Africans Egypt set up a final showdown with hosts Argentina. If they are successful, it will be the first time the title has come to the African continent.

A few days earlier, they had shocked favourites Brazil in the quarter finals and are now 90 minutes away from glory. Their opponents, however, have had a flawless run in the championship and are strongly tipped to win.

But in the message, which he personally signed, the Ghanaian leader John Agyekum Kufuor urged the boys not to give up. He said: "Having followed your exploits in the tournament, my admiration for your sterling performance knows no bounds. I congratulate you, and urge you to fight harder to ensure that you bring the trophy to your country."

The President told the players that the entire nation would be praying for the Satellites' success on Sunday: "The whole country is behind you. I pray and hope the Ghanaian fighting spirit and deep sense of patriotism will see you through as you fight to bring honour to the continent."

Meanwhile, a new sports minister has been named by the president. He is 43-year-old Papa Owusu-Ankoma, a member of parliament from Sekondi.