Senegal's Opa Nguette and Habib Diallo secure French Ligue 2 title for Metz

Habib Diallo's double and Opa Nguette's lone effort gave Metz a 3-0 win over Valenciennes on Friday, which secured their spot as Ligue 2 winners.

Nguette opened the scoring at the Stade Saint-Symphorien in the 17th minute and Diallo doubled the lead six minutes later, after benefitting from Renaud Cohade's assist

On the half-hour mark, Diallo stretched the lead for the hosts with his second goal of the night from the penalty spot, to become the joint top scorer in the French second-tier with 25 goals from 35 games.

The victory extended Metz's dominance at the summit of the Ligue 2 table to 78 points from 36 matches with two games remaining in the season.

Frederic Antonetti's side boasts 11 African players, including Algeria goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja, Ghana defender John Boye, Ivory Coast's Victorien Angban, Zambia's Stopilla Sunzu, Mali's Mamadou Fofana amongst others.

Friday's triumph confirms Metz's promotion to the Ligue 1 next season, but they will be looking to end the 2018-19 campaign on a high when they face Nancy and second-placed Brest on May 10 and 16 respectively.

Following a successful campaign in the French second division, the African stars will hope to make a statement for the countries at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The 2019 Afcon is scheduled to start on June 21 with an opening fixture between Egypt and Zimbabwe.