Eaglets beat Ghana via penalties, seal U17 AFCON spot

The Golden Eaglets on Saturday defeated Ghana’s Black Starlets via penalties in the final of the U17 WAFU zone B qualifying tournament.

The pulsating encounter which ended 1-1 after regulation time held at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey.

The Starlets shot into the lead in the 54th minute but the Nigerian team equalised minutes later when Akinkunmi Amoo finished brilliantly.

Both teams tried hard but failed to get the winner in the regulation time, and the game had to go into penalties.

Samson Tijani, Muhammad Ibrahim and David Ishaya scored for Nigeria while goalscorer Amoo missed his effort.

The Eaglets won the game after the Ghanaians fluffed a penalty kick and Nigeria’s goalkeeper John Amah saved one.

Victory was further confirmation of Nigeria’s edge over Ghana in cadet football, with Nigeria posting five world titles to Ghana’s two.

Nigeria’s Samson Tijani was named the most valuable player of the tournament while the nimble-footed Olakunle Olusegun was top scorer with four goals.

The Golden Eaglets will return to Nigeria on Sunday.