Defending champions Ghana have been handed a tough draw for the upcoming African U20 championship in March as they will face arch rivals Nigeria in the group phase of the tournament.
\nThe Black Satellites will also play Cameroon and Gambia, two countries have have impressed in recent youth tournaments. Hosts Libya are in the other group, along with Mali, Egypt and Lesotho. The tournament takes place from 18 March to 1 April and the four semi-finalists will qualify for the U20 World Cup later in 2011.
\nGhana are also defending World champions and the Black Satellites are determined to hold on to both crowns. \u201cIt\u2019s very important for us,\u201d coach Orlando Wellington told the BBC before the draw was made. \u201cIt\u2019s a big challenge for me and the players \u2013 we have to work very hard to go to the World Cup. It\u2019s not easy but financially and physically we are prepared.\u201d
\nWellington insisted that his crop of youngsters have even more potential than their double-winning predecessors.
\n\u201cWhen you talk about technique this team is far ahead of the past champions,\u201d he told the BBC\u2019s African sports programme Fast Track. \u201cThese people are tactically and technically [more] sound than the other team. The others play more aggressively but this team can play very good football.\u201d
\nThe four teams in each group will meet in a round robin format, with group winners and runners-up progressing to the semi-finals \u2013 and a place at the World Cup in Colombia in July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defending champions Ghana have been handed a tough draw for the upcoming African U20 championship in March as they will face arch rivals Nigeria in the group phase of the tournament. The Black Satellites will also play Cameroon and Gambia, two countries have have impressed in recent youth tournaments. Hosts Libya are in the other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n