Golden Eaglets win Wafu football tournament and qualify for Nations Cup by beating Ghana

NIGERIA'S Golden Eaglets have lifted the West African Football Union (Wafu) B trophy and qualified for the 2019 U17 African Cup of Nations by beating Ghana 3-1 on penalties last night at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey.

At the keenly contested tournament hosted by Niger Republic, Nigeria and Ghana both threw everything into the tense-soaked match which ended 1-1 after extra time. They then proceeded to penalties, with Nigeria winning the shoot-out and qualifying for Tanzania 2019, where the best four of the eight teams that participate in the tournament will go to the World Cup.

Yesterday, Ghana went ahead in the 54th minute but the Eaglets quickly drew level through Akinkunmi Amoo who slotted home from close range. Things stayed that way until the end of the match and even in extra time, neither side could find a breakthrough, forcing the contest to be decided on spot kicks.

Golden Eaglets’ coach Manu Garba said his wards would develop into future Super Eagles as the team was on the road to becoming unbeatable. Congratulating his players, on their achievement, he described the present Golden Eaglets as an ideal team that any soccer-loving country could dream of.

Mr Garba said: “I thank Allah for giving us victory in spite of all the challenges we went through. We left the shores of Nigeria with great optimism to pick the sole ticket to qualify for the Nations Cup and Tanzania and God willing, we have achieved that feat.

“I thank Nigerians who prayed fervently for the success of the country. This is just the beginning, with good preparation and motivation, the U-17 team is going to develop into the future senior national teams."

In the penalty shoot-out, Samson Tijani, Muhammad Ibrahim and David Ishaya all scored for Nigeria. Following the victory, the Eaglets will get N2m promised them by Ahmed Yusuf, the chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation's technical committee.

Under the Confederation of African Football's complex World Cup qualification scheme, Nigeria will now join seven other nations from the other regional tournaments to feature in Tanzania 2019. Nigeria will qualify as Wafu B champions, while Wafu A will produce two teams, East, Central, North and Southern Africa will each produce one team alongside hosts Tanzania, with the best four of the eight qualifying for Peru 2019.