Nigeria edges Ghana to book U-17 AFCON spot

The Black Starlets of Ghana succumbed to painful defeat against their continential rivals, Nigeria, as they missed out on the 2019 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), slated for Tanzania.

The Black Starlets lost 3-1 on penalties after regulation time ended in a 1-1 stalemate as Nigeria, were crowned Champions of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B tournament that was held in Niger.

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets would join Morocco, Cameroon, Uganda, Angola, and Tanzania for the U-17 AFCON to be held in Tanzania.

After a scoreless first half, Akinkunmi Amoo levelled the scores for Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets after Ghana had opened the scoring in the early stages of the first half.

Both sides had series of chance to win the game in full time but couldn’t capitalize.

Ghana’s Alhassan Uzair, Sampson Agyapong, Abdul Fatau Isaaku all missed their respective spot kicks with Ebenezer Adade scoring from the spot.

Nigeria David Ishaya, Sampson Tijani, Mohammed Ibrahim all scored from the spot with Amoo misplacing his kick.

Meanwhile, hosts Niger defeated Ivory Coast 2-0 in the third place match as Nigeria’s Sampson Tijani was adjudged the best player of the tournament.

Source: GNA