WAFU B U20 Championship Ghana 1 Nigeria 2: Kparobo Arierhi brace hands Flying Eagles victory in showpiece

The Flying Eagles defeated Ghana 2-1 in the final of the WAFU B U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Wednesday night at Stade de Kégué in Lomé.

Nigeria had secured their place in the 2025 U20 AFCON but were on a mission to defend the WAFU B U20 AFCON qualification championship against their fierce rivals.

Sabiu Ibrahim returned from an injury that made him miss the semifinal victory over Niger and was reinstated back in defensive midfield.

Clinton Jephta missed a golden opportunity to give Nigeria the lead in the fourth minute, failing to tuck the ball beyond the goalkeeper from a close range at the far post.

The Flying Eagles were forced to make a sigh of relief in the 17th minute when a poor pass almost put a Ghanaian on goal, but goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt was quick enough to avert the danger.

Arierhi Kparobo gave Nigeria the lead three minutes after the half-hour mark with a low strike into the bottom corner.

Kparobo would strike once again before half-time, striking a venomous shot into the Ghanaian net.

The Black Satellites could have halved the deficit before the first-half final whistle was blown when an attacker skillfully glided past the Nigerian defence, but his effort was saved by Harcourt.

The Ghanaians started the second half on the strong foot but couldn't get past Harcourt.

A minute before the hour mark, Ghana came close to getting the breakthrough but were denied by a denied by a fantastic goal-line clearance.

They eventually got a deserved goal in the 73rd minute through a magnificent header.

Despite pushing for the equalizer, the Flying Eagles were able to preserve their one-goal cushion to emerge as the winners at the end of the regulation time and the champions of the tournament.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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