Nigeria's Flying Eagles have successfully defended their WAFU B Championship crown after beating bitter rivals Ghana 2-1 in the final played at the Stade de Kegue in Lome, Togo, Soccernet.ng reports.
Exciting young forward Arierhi Kparobo netted two stunning goals in the first half to inspire Nigeria to back-to-back triumph in the competition.
The Flying Eagles and Black Satellites were evenly matched for the opening 33 minutes before Kparobo broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike.
https://twitter.com/GHNaijaBallers/status/1851713248992870471
The ball came to the Beyond Limits forward from the right flank and he did well to allow it roll across him before firing a left-footed shot into the net.
Ghana were stung but before they could recover, Kparobo struck again. The 17-year-old striker ran free on goal before smashing the ball into the top corner for Nigeria's second goal three minutes from the half-time break.
https://twitter.com/GHNaijaBallers/status/1851714997199736952
After the interval, the Flying Eagles were contented with protecting their advantage.
However, Ghana had other ideas and the dynamic attacking play of the Black Satellites was rewarding midway through the second-half when they reduced the deficit with a brilliant header.
https://twitter.com/GHNaijaBallers/status/1851723992123547849
But despite creating a number of half chances later on, Ghana could not find the equaliser as Nigeria held on to secure a fine victory.
By reaching the final, Nigeria and Ghana have already qualified as the WAFU Zone B representatives at next year's U20 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Earlier on Wednesday, Cote d'Ivoire defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in the third-place match to claim the competition's bronze medal.
