Under-20 round-up

Durosimi Thomas
reviews the African Youth qualifiers played over the weekend

Morocco beat Sierra Leone 3-0 in Rabat

There were emphatic home wins for three former Under-20 champions as the first round of qualifiers were played last weekend.

1997 champions Morocco defeated Sierra Leone 3-0 in Rabat on Saturday.

Redallah Doulyazal put the host side ahead in the 15th minute, from a freekick on the edge of the box.

The goal failed to unsettle the Sierra Leoneans as they piled a lot of pressure on the Moroccans, especially in the first half.

But their fight-back was dented in the second-half with goals by Karim Meftal in the 66th minute and Mouhcine Iajour in extra time.

Reigning champions Egypt trounced Sudan 4-0 and the 2001 holders Angola were 3-0 winners over Botswana in Benguela.

Angolan striker Lucas scored a second half hat-trick.

There was a surprise home defeat for Algeria, who lost 2-1 to Niger, who have never qualified for any major tournament at any level.

Two goalkeeping errors, including a 90th minute blunder, gave Niger the victory over a disorganised Algerian side in Annaba.

Tunisia missed many chances but managed a 1-0 over Burkina Faso in Bizerte with a goal by the man-of-the-match Yassine Chikhaoui.

South Africa had to wait for Chesseman Mkhise to hit the winner before they could edge out Lesotho 2-1 in Nelspruit.

Romano Scott had put the South Africans ahead after just four minutes.

But Lesotho equalised through their South Africa-based striker Katleho Moleko, who fired home a superb volley.

In a West African derby, Ivory Coast defeated Guinea 2-0 in an exciting encounter in Abidjan.

First-half goals by Kouakou Kouadio and Abdramane Diaby helped sink an impressive Guinean side.

In the other West African encounter, Mali beat Senegal 3-1 in Bamako.

Ethiopia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Congo withdrew which meant Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe are through to the next round.