Ghana’s U20 national team, the Black Satellites, were held to a 1-1 draw by Niger on Friday night in their 2023 U20 WAFU B Cup of Nations opening match.

The U23 AFCON qualifying tournament which Ivory Coast is hosting kicked off earlier in the day.

The Nigeriens scored in the dying minutes of the match to deny coach Samuel Boadu’s team a winning start to the tournament.

Following a very good start to the game, the Black Satellites took the lead from a set piece, with Mustapha Yakubu curling in brilliantly to give Ghana the lead at the break.

Niger scored in the sixth minute of additional time to break Ghanaian hearts, ending the game 1-1.

There is now pressure on Ghana to win their second match of Group A against Burkina Faso which is scheduled to be played on Monday, July 10.

Already, Burkina Faso has three points at the tournament after beating Ivory Coast 1-0 in the first game of the tournament.