Ghana's U-20 coach Jimmy Cobblah has attributed his side's exit from the ongoing CAF U-20 Africa Championship to poor preparation.

The Black Satellites needed at least a draw or a win in the final game of the group to automatically qualify for 2019 U-20 FIFA World Cup to be staged in Poland after picking up three points from their opening two games.

The three-time U-20 Africa Cup of Nations winners suffered a 1-0 defeat to their bogey side Mali to exit the competition.

Speaking after the game, coach Jimmy Cobblah, whose outfit were camped for almost six months and played close to 30 friendly games, says his side suffered in the tournament due to lack of adequate preparations ahead of the competition.

“Preparation is very important in such a tournament, and we didn’t have enough preparation,” he said.

“Competition is very key and as you all know there is no football in our country."