Nigeria’s Flying Eagles qualified for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Ivory Coast 2-1 in their WAFU B encounter in Niger. The Flying Eagles had missed out on the last edition but will now get a chance to play for the FIFA U20 World Cup set to be hosted by Indonesia next year.
Having crashed out in the group stages of WAFU B in 2020, the Flying Eagles made light work of their opponents this time around, beating Ghana 2-0 before playing a 2-2 draw against Burkina Faso.
This set up a semi-final clash against the Young Elephants. The match got off to a bizarre start as the stadium lights went off just as the team lined up.
However, the issue was quickly fixed, allowing the match to proceed as expected. Nigeria got off to a perfect start as Dagba put them ahead in the fifth minute.
The Flying Eagles were clearly the superior side, but they were pegged back just before half-time. The second half was more of Nigeria’s dominance, but Bosso’s men could not make it count, with the match going into extra time.
The extra time played out the same way as the second half, but the Flying Eagles could not convert their chances. The game was heading into the penalties until Nigeria were awarded a penalty, which Yahaya converted to put the Eagles ahead again.
Yahaya’s penalty sealed Nigeria’s place in the final, where they will face Benin.