Following a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to fellow West Africans Burkina Faso on Thursday, the Golden Eaglets’ chances of qualifying for the 2023 U-17 World Cup and winning the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 16 years were destroyed.
At the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers, forward Aboubacar Camara assisted on both of the Burkinabe’s goals as they took a 2-0 lead.
However, Eaglets forward Abubakar Abdullahi cut the lead in half midway through the second half, but it was insufficient as the Baby Stallions secured a tenacious victory to advance to the U-17 AFCON semifinals in Algeria and book a World Cup ticket.
The Eaglets made a strong start to the game but found it difficult to penetrate Burkina Faso’s defense. Eaglets coach Nduka Ugbade did not make any changes to the team that defeated South Africa 3-2 in their previous group game.
Just two minutes after the game’s start, Charles Agada had the first opportunity, but goalkeeper Abdoulaye Traore stopped his close-range attempt.
The Baby Stallions’ defense eventually cleared Abdullahi’s remarkable effort from beyond the box six minutes after he thought he had given the Eaglets the lead.
Nigeria maintained their control and nearly received a reward, but once more the Burkinabe woodwork saved them, with Agada hitting the upright 15 minutes into the game.
The Eaglets cleared their lines to keep the score tied after Brahima Traore’s team had their first opportunity of the game in the 39th minute.
Nevertheless, Burkina Faso took the lead with just one minute remaining in the first half, despite the Eaglets’ dominance during that period.
Tochukwu Ogboji, a defender, attempted to clear the ball but made a poor connection, allowing Aboubacar Camara the opportunity to seize the opportunity and give their opponents the lead going into halftime.
The Eaglets continued to dominate but failed to take advantage of their opportunities in the second half, just like the first 45 minutes.
The Stallions extended their lead 12 minutes after the restart from the spot after the referee gave a penalty for a clumsy challenge inside the Nigerian box, even though Ugbade’s team had 60 percent of the possession.
After Camara calmly converted from the penalty spot to make it 2-0, Abdullahi scored for the record world champions 10 minutes later, but it was too late.
The Eaglets’ efforts to score an equalizer were unsuccessful, and substitute FavourUgbade’s team should have scored a late equalizer thanks to Daniel’s looping header, but the excellent Traore blocked the goal-bound attempt.
However, Burkina Faso managed to hold on and defeat the Eaglets, earning a storied victory and securing their spot in the 2023 World Cup.
In the tournament’s semifinals, they will now play Senegal, the tournament favorite.
