Niger beats hosts Benin, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria draw as WAFU-B U-20 kicks off
Niger defied the odds by stunning hosts Benin 1-0 in the opening match of the WAFU-B U-20 Championship at the Stade De Gaulles in Porto Novo on Saturday.
Midfielder Abdoulaye Ibrahim Litnine scored the game’s lone goal to give Niger their first three points of Group A, as hosts left shocked.
Benin dominated the first half, but despite having most of the possession they failed to test Niger’s goalkeeper Abasse Issaka.
Niger punished their opponents with a well-worked ball from a freekick, with Litnine on hand to fire home from the edge of the box.
Meanwhile in the group’s other game on Saturday, Burkina Faso rallied from a goal down to hold Togo to a 1-1 draw at the same venue.
Togo broke the deadlock in the first half when Derman Karim converted a penalty after Thibault Klidje was brought down in the box.
However, the Burkinabes rallied strongly in the second half with Fiacre Botue grabbing the equalizer in the 64th minute.
Benin will face Togo on Tuesday while Burkina Faso takes on Niger.
Exciting draw
In Group B, Ivory Coast scored a dramatic late goal to salvage a draw against arch-rivals Nigeria on Sunday.
Dje Bi Vroh was the hero for the Baby Elephants as his late strike helped his side to rally from a goal down to snatch a point.
Defender Christopher Nwaeze gave the Flying Eagles the lead with a powerful header just after the hour mark to spark hopes of sealing victory in a difficult match.
The game was balanced from the start and Nigeria showed early hunger for goals with striker Peter Olawole and Nwaeze missing good scoring opportunities after they twice exposed the Ivorian defenders.
The Baby Elephants were happy to sit back and soak the pressure from the Nigerians but were very dangerous on attack with dangerous offensive midfielder Fofana Datro and striker Mel Yannick Agnero also fluffing some good chances.
But the Flying Eagles were not to be stopped after the break when Nwaeze rose highest to head in from Wisdom Ubani’s free kick with goalkeeper Souleymane Dao well beaten.
The goal sparked the Ivorians to life with sporadic attacks, but Nigeria were not satisfied as they pressed on for more goals. The Baby Elephants took advantage of such daring attacks and when Vroh broke free on the left in stoppage time, he outpaced two Nigeria defenders before hitting the ball past goalkeeper Kolawale Oladipo.
Both sides need a victory in their next matches to be assured of progress from the three-team group that also involves tough rivals Ghana.
Nigeria will play Ghana in the next game in the group on Wednesday.
The WAFU-B U-20 championship ends on 20 December with the two finalists qualifying for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Mauritania 2021.