Hosts Gabon and former champions Cameroon started their Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with heavy defeats on Sunday, May 14th, 2017.
Gabon who was hoping to get off to a good start in a bid to reach the World Cup for the first time suffered a 5-1 defeat to Guinea in Port Gentil. Guinea put on a dominant performance before Gabon hit a consolation goal in the second half.
Ghana later proved why it is a joint favorite after tearing down West African rivals Cameroon with an easy 4-0 win in the second Group A fixture of the day.
The Ghanaians were a mouthful for their Cameroonian counterparts thanks to a brace each from captain Eric Ayiah and Ibrahim Sulley and now stand a chance of booking a place at the world cup scheduled this year.
Group B fixtures will be played in Libreville on Monday (today) with defending champions Mali facing debutants Tanzania and Angola taking on Niger.
The stakes have risen because the top four teams will qualify for the Under-17 FIFA World Cup scheduled to take place in India this October.
In other developments, Tanzania was confirmed as the 2019 Under-17 AFCON edition host which gives it enough time to prepare adequately and avoid this year’s confusion.
Madagascar originally the hosts of this edition, was replaced by Gabon after failing to meet the required standards following a CAF inspection.
Featured photo: Getty Images
