Two goals by Beyond Limits striker Kparobo Arierhi helped Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1 in Lome, Togo to win the 2024 WAFU B U20 Championship title on Wednesday night, www.aclsports.com reports.
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have been on the back foot in their past two games and the signs were quite evident early on. However, they finished the first half strongly by scoring twice through Kparobo before Ghana’s goal mid-way through the second half to eventually claim their second WAFU B title in a row.
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Aliyu Zubairu, head coach of the side, kept faith with almost the same side that beat Niger in the semifinal on Sunday. Sulyman Alabi was the only change, as he made way for Niger Tornadoes’ Muhammad Ibrahim.
After they successfully weathered the initial storm in the game’s opening half-hour, the Nigerians created a chance of their own and that brought the final’s opening goal. Kparobo found some space at the edge of the box after a fine drive from Adamu Maigari before firing low into the bottom right-hand corner in the 34th minute.
Motivated by that lead, the Nigerians pressed forward once again, and after some sloppy play at the back from the Ghanaians, Kparobo latched onto a one-time pass from Bidemi Amole before finishing smartly into the top corner. It was his third goal of the tournament.
Nigerian goalkeeper Harcourt Ifeanyi made a couple of fine saves to deny the Black Satellites before Maigari cleared the ball off the line afterward. However, the Ghanaians got a goal midway through the second half, but the Flying Eagles held on to successfully defend the title they won in Niger two years ago. Earlier in the day, Cote D’Ivoire defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in the Third-Place game.
Nigeria and Ghana will represent the WAFU B zone in the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Image credit: Sport Retina
