KEHINDE FAJOBI
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Friday beat the Junior Etalons of Burkina Faso to win the 2022 U17 West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone B tournament in Ghana.
Abubakar Abdullahi netted Nigeria’s first goal with a powerful header from Emmanuel Michael’s cross in the 22nd minute.
Burkina Faso’s Abdulramane Ouedraogo scored the equaliser at the 41st minute also with a header to level up with Nigeria heading into the half time with a draw.
Two minutes into the second half, Abdullahi again scored Nigeria’s second goal, taking the Eaglets to a 2-1 lead.
The match ended 2-1 in Nigeria’s favour as they lifted the second regional youth level tournament weeks after the U20 boys won the U20 WAFU Zone B tournament in Niger Republic, beating Benin Republic in the final.
Nigeria’s goalkeeper Richard Odoh was awarded the Man-of-the-Match (MOTM) with his teammate Emmanuel Michael winning the prize in their previous matches against Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast.
In the Third place match, host Ghana beat Cote d’Ivoire 3-2 to finish third.