Ghana’s quest to qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) was yesterday blown apart by their Burkina Faso counterparts as the two teams battled for a piercing barren game in Ouagadougou.
The result meant that Burkina Faso’s Stallions had qualified on a 1-0 aggregate, having beaten the Black Stars B three weeks ago at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
Gangling striker Yannick Wendyam Pognongo’s 94th-minute strike in Kumasi condemned Maxwell Konadu’s outfit to their third successive failure since 2014.
Reports indicate that the Ghanaians fought fiercely throughout the afternoon but the home team defended gallantly to keep off the Stars whose best performance at the championship remains second-placed finishes in 2009 and 2014.
They have played at the event on three occasions, the other appearance coming in 2011.
Ghana eliminated Burkina Faso on penalties at the just-ended WAFU Cup of Nations Championship.
In other games of the CHAN qualifiers, Ditram Nchimbi shocked Sudan’s supporters after 79 minutes when he received Iddi Seleman pass to put Tanzania ahead.
The Desert Hawks as Sudan are nicknamed threw everything into attack trying to get the equalizer. Substitute Walid Bekhit shot rattled the crossbar two minutes from time, while Ramadan Agab’s free-kick missed the target deep into injury time, as Tanzania sailed into the finals.
This is the second time Tanzania have reached CHAN finals after the maiden edition in 2009, when they also qualified on the expense of Sudan, winning 5-2 on aggregate.
Titleholders Morocco also comfortably booked their place at the finals of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020 after a 3-0 win over Algeria on Saturday in Berkane.
The Atlas Lions advanced 3-0 on aggregate as they qualified for the Cameroon tournament, designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues for the fourth successive time.
Houcine Amouta’s men started their high pressing game from the beginning of the match.
The competition is exclusively reserved for players plying their trade in their local leagues.
Ghanaian Times
Samuel A. Boakye-Buckman (popularly known as Dada Oliseh) is a self-motivated young journalist with a passion for telling stories better with pictures. He is the founder, owner, editor and bankroller of www.ghanasoccernews.org as well as this website, www.totalsportsgh.com. Dada Oliseh is again the brain behind the Dada Oliseh Photos brand that produces awesome pictures of all sporting activities, nature, and other occasions.
He has a vast experience in the reporting of sports in Ghana especially football-related activities in Ghana and beyond. A former employee of Hearts News (official mouthpiece of Accra Hearts of Oak), 90 minutes sports paper, National Sports Authority, Footballcrusader.com, sportscrusader.com, and ghanafootballnews.com, Samuel is one of the few energetic and self-motivated young journalist in Ghana with a large following on social media, especially Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/boakye.buckman.9). He is well known for his frequent updates from all over the country with pictures to match. He is also a correspondent for a few international websites, including CAF. In recent times, he has introduced, as part of his many talents, the live streaming of matches and football-related activities. He lives in Accra Ghana.