WAFU B U17 Final: Nigeria beat Burkina Faso to emerge Champions

By Emmanuel Oladele - The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria on Friday's night defeated Burkina Faso by 2-1 to emerge Champions of the 2022 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in Ghana. Abubakar Abdullahi Idris brace fires Nigeria to a super victory.

In the 22nd minutes of the first half, Nigeria took the lead through an overhead cross from Emmanuel Michael, giving Abubakar Abdullahi Idris a superb header that rendered the Burkina Faso goalkeeper helpless after the Nigerians have dominated the opening half.

Burkina Faso were defensive in the first half but were also going on counters, and were looking very dangerous anytime they are close to the Nigeria's half. Before the half time, Ouedraogo's 42nd minute header restored parity to the Burkina Faso side who were desperate to get a goal. The first half of the encounter ended in a 1-1 scoreline.

In the early minutes of the second half, Burkina Faso Goalkeeper failure to properly dealt with Emmanuel Michael free-kick gave Abubakar Abdullahi Idris a cheap scoring chance in the 47th minute and well utilised. Both team were better in the second half but were not taking their chances to score more goals in the encounter. At the end of the 90 minutes, it was the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria that were jubilating over their Burkina Faso counterparts.

DETAILS OF WAFU B U17 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

• Nigeria 2-1 Burkina Faso - Full-Time

Goalscorers

• Abubakar Abdullahi Idris ⚽22' ⚽47' - Nigeria (Assist - Emmanuel  Michael)

• A. Ouedraogo ⚽42' - Burkina Faso

In the thrilling encounter, the Golden Eaglets Goalkeeper made some brilliant saves, hence, winning the man of the match award for the final.

Despite the loss for Burkina Faso, they and Nigeria have qualified for the Algeria 2023 CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations, which hold early next year. Congratulations to Nigeria and Burkina Faso for their AFCON Qualifications, but the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria are Champions of WAFU Zone B U17 Tournament held in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Meanwhile, in the third place game, host nation Ghana defeated Côte d'Ivoire by 3-2.