�This is what we came for, to make history,� said exultant Ghana captain Priscilla Okyere, speaking after her side had pulled off the shock of the FIFA U-17 Women�s World Cup Azerbaijan 2012 by beating tournament favourites Japan 1-0 in Friday�s quarter-finals.
�And we�ve made it,� continued the midfielder. �We�ve made history but we want more. We�re hoping to beat France, reach the final and take this World Cup home with us.�
Having failed to make it past the group phase in their two previous FIFA U-17 Women�s World Cup appearances, the Black Maidens will be contesting their very first semi-finals in the competition against Les Bleuettes this Tuesday.
What makes their achievement even more notable is the fact that they are the first Ghana women�s team to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA competition and the first African side to appear in the last four of the FIFA U-17 Women�s World Cup.
�I know that the eyes of all Africa are on us and that drives us on,� said an excited Okyere after Friday�s ground-breaking game. �Our country is watching us because of what we achieved today. I can�t even describe how that feels.�
Sherifatu Sumaila�s 51st-minute goal was enough to send the previously unbeaten Japanese back home early. And naturally the striker, who also represented her country at Trinidad and Tobago 2010, was thrilled with her performance: �I�m so excited because I didn�t score a single goal in 2010. In fact, this is my first goal in a World Cup and I�m very, very happy.�
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