Haisha Cantave scored in the 54th minute as Canada recovered from a flat first half to defeat Ghana 1-0 in their opening game Monday night at the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.
The young Canadians looked sluggish and failed to record a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes at Larry Gomes Stadium, located 25 kilometres east of Trinidad's capital Port-of-Spain.
But Canada came out sharper to open the second half.
The goal came when Cantave, a forward for the Ottawa Fury, beat her marker to angle a header in off a Chantale Campbell corner. Cantave had engineered the corner, taking a pass at midfield and racing the length off the field before a defender poked the ball away.
Canada had another chance after a goalmouth scramble in the 58th minute but Campbell blasted the ball high.
Canada plays Ireland on Thursday in their second Pool D match. The European runners-up lost 2-1 to South American champion Brazil earlier Monday.
