The Eleven players were made up of outstanding talents from Burundi, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa and Niger. Youssouph Dabo was named coach of the tournament.

Here’s the Best XI of the #TotalAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/iUPYJuZyry

— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) February 17, 2019

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Boubacar Traore opened the scoring for Mali in the 16th minute, the forward dribbled past a defender before brilliantly slotting the ball on the left-hand side of the goalkeeper.

Senegal forged ahead for an equalizer before the end of the first 45 minutes but Mali stood their ground with an organized style of play in every department.

Senegal coach Dabo made a lot of attacking changes in the second half as he looked to get back in the game.



Senegal hard work paid off when Souleymane Aw pounced on a rebound to level for his team with an overhead kick in the 75th minute of the game.

Both sides had few chances to seal the game but couldn’t find a breakthrough before the referee ended the second half.

Mali came out victorious in the penalty shoot-out, thanks to their goalkeeper who made an important save to put them in a position to win the prestigious tournament.

South Africa emerged as bronze winners on Saturday after beating Nigeria to claim third-place. All the last four teams have already qualified for the U20 World Cup that will take place in Poland.

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South Africa put out an impressive defensive display against strong Senegal. Senegal were clearly the better team, they managed to attack and string passes in bid to break the South Africa defence. Their hard work paid off when Ousseynou Niang shot deflected off Givemore Khupe to ensure that Senegal scale through to the final.



Nigeria lost on penalties to Mali, they will face South Africa on Saturday 16th as both teams will fight for the third position.

Senegal will play Mali on Sunday 17th in the final game of the U20 Cup of Nations.

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Nigeria started the game positively with series of attacking runs with the aim of breaking the Mali defence, The Flying Eagles almost took the lead in the first half after hitting the bar. The scoreline remained goalless at half time.



Mali took the lead through Mamadou Traore who drilled a powerful shot past the Nigerian goalkeeper to put his team in front.

Paschal Durugbor grabbed the equalizer for Nigeria in the closing minutes of the second half to send the game into extra time.

Both teams failed to score in the extra time period and had to settle for a penalty shootout where Mali came out winners.



Mali will face either South Africa or Senegal in the finals.

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Reports are suggesting that the team was scheduled to arrive in Ghana on Monday but had difficulties getting flights to Accra.

The Blac Satellites exited the tournament after a defeat to Mali in a game where they needed only a draw to qualify for the semis and for the U20 World Cup in Poland.

Jimmy Cobblah, the u20 coach earlier stated that their shortcomings in the competition was due to lack of local football and he had to settle for ‘foreign’ players.

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Nigeria and South Africa will join Senegal in the semis, all three teams have also qualified for the U2O World Cup that will take place in Poland between May and June.

Niger sneaked a win against host Nation on Friday to secure their qualification spot. South Africa did enough against Burundi to join Nigeria in the semi-finals.



Ghana will face Mali on Saturday as both teams will also fight to qualify for the semis.

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Senegal are the first team to qualify for the Semi-final and also book their ticket to the Under-20 World Cup in Poland after beating Ghana.

Youssouph Mamadou Badji was outstanding for Senegal today, the youngster opened the scoring with a great header that was too powerful for the Ghana goalie.

Badji completed his brace just a few minutes before the half time with a low shot into the bottom corner.

The last group game between Mali will decide the fate of the Black Satellites who need at least a win to qualify for the semi-final.

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South Africa goalkeeper Khubeka was the hero for his side after making series of saves to stop Nigeria from scoring.

The Flying Eagles dominated the game in terms of possessions but were lacking the final touch up front, they attempted thirteen shots but registered only three on target.

South Africa settled for a defensive style of play throughout the game, they sat back and sent only a few players forward.

Nigeria will feel they should have won the game because they were the better side, South Africa, on the other hand, looked more contended with a point.

Nigeria are on course to seal the knockout spot after managing four points in their first two games, South Africa will be hoping results go their way when Niger face Burundi later on.  South Africa will look to win their last game after managing only two points in their last two games.

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The game started in a very slow manner as both teams struggled to keep the ball and string passes.

Ghana opened the scoring few minutes before half time with a cheeky chip from Lomotey who shrugged off a defender to lob the ball pass the Burnika Faso goalkeeper.

Burkina Faso came close to restoring parity when Dianda’s shot hit the bar, Dianda was surprisingly subbed off just minutes before half time.

Daniel Lomotey completed his brace 77th minute with another chip to seal the game.

Ghana Black Satellites will look to maintain their winning momentum when they meet Senegal in their next fixture.

Senegal already grabbed their first three points when they beat Mali 2-0 on Sunday.

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The first game kicked off in Niamey, Boubacar Goumey’s wonder strike gave Niger the lead in the 63rd minute.  Abdoul Kairou dribbled past his marker to set the goal for Boubacar who thumped in the pass to send the host in front. Siphesihle Mkhize grabbed the equalizer for South Africa eight minutes after the opening goal, he connected with Ngcobo’s cross and head the ball pass goalkeeper Khaled Ibrahim to secure a point for his team.

Nigeria overcame stubborn Burundi in the second game. Burundi held Nigeria in the first 45 minutes, goalkeeper Rukundu kept Burundi in the game after making crucial saves to deny Nigeria. Nigeria grabbed the opener through Nazifi Yahaya just ten minutes into the second half, Maxwell Effiom scored the second goal for the Flying Eagles.

Watch the highlights below.

Niger vs South Africa

Nigeria vs Burundi

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