Africa U-17 Nations Cup defending champions Mali will face Ghana in the final of this year’s championship at the Stade De Agondje on Sunday.

Mali set up a final clash with the Black Starlets after a hard earned victory over Guinea. Les Aiglonnets beat the Guinea 2-0 on penalties to reach their second consecutive final.

Black Starlets were held to a goalless draw by Niger in the semi-finals to survive the scare and won 6-5 on penalties to book a date in the final.

Mali won the last edition of the tournament two years ago in Niger statrted the competation on a lower note in their opening group match before whipping Niger 2-1 to secure qualification after emphatic victory over Angola.

The defending champions cruised to the finals after a 2-0 win aganist fellow West Africans Guinea to book a date with Ghananians.

The Black Starlets will be trying to claim for the silverware for the first time since 1999, having already secured qualification for the World Cup in India for the first time in a decade.

They will be depending on prowess of Eric Ayiah,the joint scorer of the tournament with four goals.

Mali remain the bookmakers favourite to lift the trophy as a result of theirv performance in the tournament.

Black Starlets fluffed several scoring opportunities in Wednesday’s semifinal against Niger and were lucky to sail through via penalty shoot-out.