Burkina Faso, Nigeria battle for African Games gold

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Friday Aug 30, 2019. 12:29

Burkina Faso under-20 will face off with their counterparts Nigeria in the 2019 African Games final at the Stade Moulay Hassan in Morocco on Friday.

Kick-off is at 20h00 CAT.

The Young Stallions reached the final after defeating Senegal 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate in the semi-finals.

Burkina Faso are hoping to win the African Games title for the first time having reached the final in 2015 and they lost to Senegal.

They will look to Djibril Ouattara, who has scored three goals in this year’s tournament including one against Senegal in the last four.

Meanwhile, Nigeria sneaked into the final after defeating Mali 5-4 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in the semi-finals.

The Flying Eagles will be looking to clinch their second African Games title having won the competition in 1973 after defeating Guinea in the final.

Ahmad Ghali, who has hit the back of the net twice for Nigeria in this year’s tournament, will be eager to help his side clinch the title.

The last meeting between Burkina Faso and Nigeria ended in a 1-1 draw in the 2019 Africa Games Group A match earlier this month.

Senegal secured a third-place finish in the tournament after defeating Mali 4-3 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in the third-place playoff match on Thursday.