(Victorious Golden Eaglets and their officials in celebration mood)

Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have qualified for next year's U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Tanzania as winners of the 2018 WAFU Zone B U17 qualifiers.

 The Golden Eaglets defeated bitter-rivals Ghana's Black Starlets 3-1 on penalties after the two sides were tied 1-1 on regulation time.

Trailing after the break, Nigeria fought back to hold Ghana to a standstill and forced the game into penalty shootout, which they eventually won.

The victory sees the Nigerian side win the first WAFU B U17 qualifying campaign, which automatically guarantee their place at the 2019 junior championship in Tanzania.

Coach Manu Garba led team had more to celebrate as midfielder Sampson Tijani was named Most Valuable Player of the tourney and Kunle Olusegun's four goals saw him scooped the Topscorer award.

The Eaglets, winners of WAFU Zone B will compete with five zonal champions and hosts Tanzania in the eight-team tournament that will serve as qualifiers to 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Peru.

They include Morocco (North Africa), Cameroon (Central Africa), Uganda (Central East Africa), Angola (Southern Africa), with two teams still to join from their respective zones.

The participating countries will be divided into two groups with four teams each, where the winners and runners-up progress to the semifinals and qualify for the world cup finals as Africa's representatives.

The U17 AFCON has been scheduled to take place in Tanzania from May 19 to May 26, while the World Cup holds in Peru between the 5th to 27th of October, 2019.

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