Nigeria’s Flying Eagles came from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw against West African rivals, Ghana in the opening game of the 2025 WAFU Zone B U-20 Boys Cup at the Ghanaman Soccerman Centre of Excellence on Thursday, July 10.
‎It was Ghana who broke the deadlock in the 24th minute through a clinical strike by 18-year-old Dreams FC forward, Musibau Aziz.
‎The much anticipated encounter was a repeat of the 2024 WAFU AFCON U-20 qualifiers where the Flying Eagles defeated the Black Satellites 2-1 in the final played in Togo.
It was equally an opportunity for Ghana to redeem their image after a below par performance at the 2025 AFCON U-20 in Egypt where they failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Ghana showed great resilience, managing to control the middle of the park when they possessed. A beautifully crafted passing exchange that started from Ghana’s own half found captain Aziz Musibau who hit home the opening goal with twenty four minutes played.
Ghana continued to enjoy a lion share of ball possession with Nigeria showing glimpses of their good self with occasional incursions at the wings. The solitary first half strike by Aziz Musibau separated the two sides moving into the half time break.
The phase of the second half did not change that much as Ghana remained resolute but Nigeria fought tooth and nail to find the equalizer which came in late in the game.
A well floated corner kick in the 83rd minute saw Abdullahi Abiodun Muhammed tower above Ghana’s defence to head home their equalizer. The tournament will continue on Friday with two games as Group B gets underway.
