Ghana midfielder Mustapha Yakubu scored a peach of a goal in the 20th minute in Ghana’s 1-1 draw with Niger at the Under 20 WAFU (West Africa Football Union) Zone B Championship.
The competition that is taking place in Cote D’Ivoire commenced on July 7 but Ghana’s Black Satellites missed out on a big chance to start its campaign with a win. Black Satellites goalkeeper Daniel Afful was named Man of the Match.
Yakubu curled a free kick with his left foot into the top right side of the goal Ghana a 1-0 lead in the first half from 25 yards out.
However, Niger cancelled out Ghana’s slim lead with a 95th minute equalizer at the Stade Champroux in Cote D’Ivoire’s economic capital, Abidjan.
Ghana takes on Burkina Faso in the Group A game on Monday, July 10 after Burkina Faso clinched a shock a 1-0 win over host nation Cote D’Ivoire in the other Group A game.
The Samuel Boadu led Black Satellites team plays its final Group A game against Cote D’Ivoire on Thursday, July 13.
The Black Satellites are attempting to qualify to the Under 20 AFCON 2025 edition after failing to qualify for the 2023 edition that was won by Senegal.
Ghana won the 2021 edition held in Mauritania. Scroll down to watch Yakubu’s stunning strike.
🇬🇭 Black Satellites held to 1-1 drawn game by Niger in the opening game of the WAFU B U20 tournament in Ivory Coast. Mustapha Yakubu, scored a beautiful free kick to give the Ghanaians the lead in the first stanza. #WAFUU20#BlackSatellites 🇬🇭#IvoryCoast2023 pic.twitter.com/aI6INxjOqm
— 𝙳𝙰𝚃_𝙾𝚂𝚄_𝙶𝚄𝚈 (@rayziray) July 7, 2023