I feel so sad when I see the likes of Pogba, Umtiti, and the rest - Ebenezer Assifuah

You may have forgotten about Ebenezer Assifuah but let me remind you that he was a potent striker in the Ghana U-20 team in 2013.

He scored for fun at the time, but as is often the team of most Ghana and African youth stars, they end up missing out when they mature.

The Ghanaian striker won the golden boot at the 2013 FIFA World Youth Championship in Turkey scoring six goals.

Assifuah like many that had come before him in the Ghana youth ranks was tipped for the very top but that never happened.

Nowadays he plies his trade with lower-tier French side FC Pau where he even struggles for game time.

He says that he feels very sad whenever he sees the likes of Paul Pogba, Samuel Umtiti, Kurt Zouma reach the very top as they all played at the same tournament in 2013 whiles himself and others who played for Ghana have shrunk into obscurity.

"I feel so sad when I see the likes of Pogba, Umtiti, and the rest. Because we all played on one stage during the FIFA U20 tournament in Turkey," he told Original TV.

Assifuah blames Ghana for not grooming the talents then at the U-20 level into stardom as France did.

"The difference between them and us is that their country saw what they can do and groomed them."

"Now they are all World cup winners and still playing. But for us the moment we couldn't win the tournament that was it," he added.

France won the trophy as Ghana placed third in the 2013 FIFA U-20 tournament but players from both countries have had varying career paths to the dismay of Assifuah.

The winners France had the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Alphonse Areola, Samuel Umtiti, Paul Pogba, Lucas Digne,Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, Florian Thauvin,Yahaya Sanogo, Dimitri Foulquier, Mario Lemina, Jordan Veretout among others all becoming household names.

Ghana had the likes of Frank Acheampong, Clifford Aboagye, Ebenezer Assifuah, Eric Antwi, Baba Rahman, Jeremiah Akorful, Eric Ofori Antwi, Alfred Duncan, Francis Narh, Seidu Salifu, Attamah Larweh, Lawrence Lartey, Kennedy Ashia, Michael Anaba, Moses Odjer, Richmond Boakye among others.