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Eight days after the West Africa Union (WAFU) Cup championships began in Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta in Ogun State, the two national teams that will play the final match will be determined today as the semi-final matches are played.

Four teams; Nigeria (host), Senegal, Ghana and Burkina Faso, are the countries left after Benin, Guinea, Togo and Liberia failed to make it out of the group stages. The Super Eagles “Team B” of Nigeria will hope to make it to the finals of the sub-regional event when they file out against Group B runner-ups, Burkina Faso.

The encounter should not be an uphill task for the Daniel Amokachi led team who have managed to score eleven goals in three games. To get into the semis, the Super Eagles drubbed the Squirrels of Benin 4-0, outscored the Syli Nationale of Guinea 5-0 and managed a 2-1 victory over the Lions of Teranga (Senegal).

Nigeria Premier League (NPL) leading goal scorer, Ahmed Musa, is confident the Super Eagles will play at the finals. The 20 year old maintained that Burkina Faso’s confidence may have been hampered by the 4-0 loss to Ghana in their last group match.

The striker said; “We will beat Burkina Faso today. I am not saying Burkina Faso will just sit back and let us walk over them, No! But we won our three matches, our confidence and the spirit in the team is okay. They (Burkina Faso) were defeated 4-0 by Ghana; I see no reason why we shouldn’t beat them.”

Hoping for Nigeria/Ghana final

After defeating the Stallions of Burkina Faso with an inspiring 4-0 in the final Group B match at the WAFU Nations Cup on Wednesday, the Ghanaian national team plan to keep their excellent run in the competition intact when they file out against Group A runner-up, Senegal in their semi-final encounter.

Ghana, one of the favourites to win this competition alongside Nigeria, have also been spectacular in this competition. The 2009 FIFA World Cup U-20 champions, a feat acquired with nine home-based players, have shown their winning skills by defeating both Togo and Liberia 2-0 and 3-0 respectively.

Already, Ghana’s boss, Herbert Addo, is hoping for a final clash between Ghana and Nigeria. The former Ghanaian international noted that winning the WAFU Cup at the expense of his West African neighbours would prove Ghana’s triumph at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt last year was not a fluke, “So far, the two teams have shown good character and it is only good that they meet to know who is better in the final game. Ghana and Nigeria are branded as brothers but when it comes to the pitch, it’s a different story. On Friday, I saw Nigeria demolish Benin and I have learnt one or two things.

“We are looking forward to meeting Nigeria if the chance comes because what I saw is a great challenge coming from the Nigerian team led by [Daniel] Amokachi who I have always admired even when he was a player.”