16th January, 2021
By Muhyideen Jimoh
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Friday defeated their Burkina Faso counterparts 1-0 to qualify for the final of the WAFU U-17 tournament in Lome, Togo.
With this win, the Golden Eaglets have also picked one of the tickets for the 2021 CAF U-17 AFCON scheduled for Morocco in 13-31 March.
Nigeria won the African championship in 2001 and 2007.
In the closely-contested first semi-final game of the regional tournament, the Golden Eaglets scored through Michael Emmanuel in the 77th minute after several missed chances in the first half.
The Eaglets had started the competition poorly, losing their first match 0-1 to Cote d’Ivoire, then drawing 1-1 with Ghana.
Nigeria eventually squeezed into the semi-finals, thanks to Cote d’Ivoire who beat Ghana 3-1 in the last group game, for Nigeria to qualify with just one point and a better goal difference.
The Golden Eaglets who are five-time world champions in this cadre will now face the winners between Cote d’Ivoire and Niger Republic in the final.
Watch the goal that sent the Eaglets into the final:
The build up 👌 , the finish 👏. The goal that sent the Golden Eaglets to the final of the Wafu B U17 tourney. #SoarGoldenEaglets #Team9jaStrong pic.twitter.com/bq0Q3hEVLh
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) January 15, 2021