The Nigeria
under-20 national team has qualified for the U-20 African Cup of Nations billed
to take place in Egypt in 2023. The Flying Eagles needed an extra time penalty
to be Ivory Coast 2-1 in the semi-finals of the WAFU B U20 AFCOn Qualifying
Tournament in Niger
The keenly
contested match between Group B winner Nigeria and Group A runners-up Ivory
Coast ended at 1-1 at full time from the two classy goals scored in the first
half.
The Flying
Eagles were the first to draw the first blood, after Daniel Daga headed the
coach Ladan Bosso-tutored side in front from a corner kick within the opening
five minutes.
Despite
creating several chances, the Nigerians were wasteful in front of goal, and the
Ivorians soon made them pay.
On
the stroke of halftime, the Elephants converted a beautifully taken free-kick
that had the goalkeeper rooted to the spot just at the edge of the penalty box
to make it 1-1.
The second
half saw, the Flying Eagles firing from all cylinders but the Ivorian
goalkeeper and the defenders stood like the rock of Gibraltar, refusing to be
broken. There were also scary moments on the other sides with the Ivorians
breaking away occasionally but the Bosso boys were lucky to survive the
counter-attacks.
Again, the
Flying Eagles dominated the opening half of extra time but failed to bury
numerous scoring opportunities.
But a few
minutes into the second period, Nigeria regained their lead through a penalty
kick and held on to book a place in the final.
With the win,
the Flying Eagles have booked their place at the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of
Nations billed for Egypt.
The Flying
Eagles will now face Benin Republic’s Baby Squirrels in the final of WAFU Zone
B qualifiers on Friday in Niamey.
Benin Republic
also defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 after extra time in the first semi-final match and
secured qualification to the Africa U20 Nations Cup in Egypt.
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