U20 AFCON Qualifiers: Ghana, Zambia and Mali Take Commanding Leads as First Leg Fixtures Get Underway
The race to secure qualification for the 2015 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal officially kicked off this weekend, as several promising young national teams took to the pitch for the first leg of the second round of qualifiers. With early signs pointing to familiar continental heavyweights asserting their dominance, a few results have already begun to shape the road ahead.
Away Wins Set the Tone
Saturday’s opening matches saw three nations take a significant step toward the next round by securing impressive away victories—often a key ingredient for success in African football’s notoriously tough qualification campaigns.
Ghana’s U20 squad, traditionally one of the continent’s most successful youth sides, delivered a composed performance in Freetown to defeat Sierra Leone 2–0. The Black Satellites were clinical in front of goal and disciplined in defence, leaving little doubt about their ambitions to reach Senegal.
Zambia mirrored Ghana’s performance in Maputo, also securing a 2–0 win over Mozambique. Their display demonstrated tactical maturity and attacking precision, as they grabbed a solid advantage ahead of the second leg to be played on home soil.
However, the most dominant display of the day came from Mali, who stunned Burkina Faso with a 3–0 demolition in Ouagadougou. The star of the show was 18-year-old Saliou Guindo, a striker from second division outfit Jeanne d’Arc de Bamako, who netted an outstanding hat-trick. Guindo’s rise from local obscurity to international headlines has already become one of the stories of the qualifying campaign.
Draw in Blantyre Leaves Malawi on the Edge
While some teams celebrated commanding wins, others left the pitch with mixed emotions. Malawi, playing at home in Blantyre, could only manage a 1–1 draw against DR Congo. The result gives the visitors a potentially vital away goal heading into the reverse fixture, leaving the tie finely balanced.
Sunday’s Fixtures Promise Drama and Fireworks
The action continues with a packed slate of fixtures scheduled for Sunday, including several high-profile matchups featuring some of the continent’s brightest young talent.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s most decorated footballing nations at youth level, travels to Dar es Salaam to face Tanzania, in a match where the Flying Eagles will look to assert their class early on.
Togo host Morocco in Lomé, while Congo will face Benin in Pointe-Noire. Ethiopia, meanwhile, will look to use home advantage in Addis Ababa as they clash with South Africa in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter.
Other fixtures on Sunday include:
Libya vs Tunisia
Burundi vs Cameroon
Rwanda vs Gabon
Liberia vs Ivory Coast
Sudan vs Egypt
Lesotho vs Angola
With the stakes rising and Senegal 2015 within reach, the continent’s next generation of stars is beginning to make its mark. The return legs in the coming weeks will determine who advances, but if this weekend’s results are anything to go by, the battle for U20 supremacy will be fiercely competitive.
