West African powerhouses Nigeria and Ghana are favourites to progress to the next round of qualification for the 2018 FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup.
Both nations as well as South Africa and Cameroon enjoyed emphatic victories in the first leg of their first round ties a fortnight ago.
Experienced teenagers Lilian Tule and Rasheedat Ajibade scored for Nigeria’s Falconets in their 3-0 triumph over Tanzania in Benin City and both teams will face again on Sunday in Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria will have an eye on happenings in Dakar where Senegal will bid to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit when they host Morocco at Stade Al Djigo on Saturday. Winner of the tie will face the winner of the Nigeria/Tanzania clash in the penultimate round of qualification.
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Ghana have an easier task than the ever-present Nigerians when they host Algeria at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
The Black Princesses recorded a resounding 5-0 win in the first leg encounter in Algiers and are sure to progress except for a catastrophic event on Sunday.
Another side with a leg already in the second round is South Africa who also have a 5-0 cushion to defend when they travel to Windhoek on Sunday.
Cameroon are already through to the next round after their opponents Guinea withdrew from the second leg following a 0-9 loss in Conakry.
Cameroon will face Sierra Leone in the next round after the West Africans also progressed without kicking a ball at the expense of Tunisia who withdrew for inability to raise a team.
In the last tie, Ethiopia visit Eastern African rivals Kenya with all still to play for. The Kenyans scored twice in the final two minutes to snatch a 2-2 draw in Khartoum in the first leg.
Two teams will qualify to represent Africa at the end of the third qualifying round. Nigeria has participated in each of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup since its inception in 2002.
Fixtures
Saturday:
Senegal vs Morocco (0-2 agg)
Kenya vs Ethiopia (2-2 agg)
Sunday:
Tanzania vs Nigeria (0-3 agg)
Ghana vs Algeria (5-0 agg)
Namibia vs South Africa (0-5 agg)
