Nigeria and Burkina Faso reach WAFU-B final to qualify for TotalEnergies U17 AFCON 2023

Burkina Faso lined up a final clash with Nigeria when they defeated hosts Ghana 1-0 on Wednesday night at the WAFU B U17 Championship in Cape Coast.

The Baby Stallions clinched their place in Friday's match to face the Golden Eaglets following the latter's 3-1 win over Cote d'Ivoire in the first semi-final match of the day.

The result of the two matches mean both sides have secured their places at the 2023 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations to be played in Algeria.

But the biggest celebrations of the day belonged to the Burkinabes who celebrated wildly after overcoming the stubborn Black Starlets.

A second-half penalty converted by Ousmane Camara was all the Burkinabes needed to defeat the Ghanaians to advance to the final.

The first-half of the match was balanced with the Ghanaians showing more desire to win but were left undone by their unimpressive shooting at goal.

The Black Starlets captain Collins Agyemang’s clumsy challenge on Camara in the box resulted in a penalty and the striker picked himself up to send Ghanaian keeper the wrong way.

Despite a late foray of attacks on the Burkina Faso goal area later in the game, the defenders held on to secure their progress.

Meanwhile, Nigeria clinched their place in the final after coming back from a goal down to defeat the 10-man Cote d'Ivoire in the coastal city in day's first semi-final game.

Two free-kick goals by Emmanuel Michael and a header by Abubakar Idris Abubakar was what the Nigerians needed to overcome their opponents.

But it was the Ivorians that stunned the Golden Eaglets when they raced into the lead through a penalty converted by Yau Diomande.

A spectacular free-kick by Michael restored parity and the dead ball specialist added another before the break to put the Golden Eaglets in the lead.

Abdullahi's 60th minute header sealed the victory and there was enough time for Ivorians to be reduced to ten men after defender Makhete Moustapha N’diaye was sent off.

The victory for the Nigerians means they will now play Burkina Faso in the final on Friday and have secured tickets to the 2023 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament serves as the qualifiers for the FIFA U17 World Cup as the top four sides in the competition to be held in Algeria will qualify for the global tournament scheduled for Peru.