Senegal Crowned 2019 WAFU Champions

Senegal were crowned winners of the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations after defeating Ghana 3-1 on penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw in full time.

Youssouph Mamadou Badji broke the deadlock for Teranga Lions two minutes into the second half of extra time before Joseph Esso restored parity with a screamer inside the area to force the match into penalty shootouts.

Ghana faltered after scoring just one of their four penalty attempts as Generation Foot goalie Pape Ndiaye pulled two saves from Justice Blay and Augustine Okrah while Mohammed Fatau crashed the woodwork.

Senegal dominated possession from the first whistle and carved out sumptuous scoring opportunities that were never converted.

The Teranga Lions laid siege on Black Stars’ goalmouth but it seems their efforts were brunt as they failed to breach Ghana’s backline, with goalkeeper coming to the rescue.

At the half-hour mark, Ousseynou Niang epitomized Senegal’s frustration in the afternoon when his rasping shot was parried away by Ghana goalkeeper for a fruitless corner.

The Black Stars, on the other hand, looked a little disjointed and were unable to muster any real attacking moves.

Consequently, neither team could find the back of the net before the half time whistle.

Not much changed in the second half with both teams’ passing letting them down which again resulted in very few decent goal-scoring chances.

In the end it was a dismal attacking performance as both sides failed to find the back of the net, forcing the match to go into extra time.

Badji broke the deadlock in the 107th minutes after linking up with Niang’s cross inside the penalty area.

The lead was, however, cancelled out by Esso, who pounced on a loose ball in the 18-yard area to bring the teams level.

Individual Accolades:

Player of the tournament – Jean Mouste (Guinea)

Goalkeeper of the tournament – Alpha Jalloh (Liberia )

Leading goal scorer of the tournament – Mumuni Shafiu (Ghana)