Golden Eaglets in Danger of Missing out on U17 AFCON Again

Nigeria’s cadet team, the Golden Eaglets are again in serious danger of not qualifying for the U17 AFCON after they lost 2-1 to Niger in their opening Group B match yesterday in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The Golden Eaglets are bottom of the group without any points, while Niger advanced to the semifinals of the WAFU B qualifiers with four points from two matches. Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, who have a point from a 1-1 draw with Niger, will now have to do battle Saturday afternoon for the other ticket to the knockout rounds of the competition. Niger were the better team and they took a deserved lead in the 20th minute after goalkeeper Mutiu Adedayo fumbled a cross inside his box. The Eaglets were uncoordinated, struggled to string passes together, while relying on individual brilliance and the hopeful long ball. Nigeria played with a lot more urgency after the interval, but they hardly troubled the well-organised Niger defense. It was Niger who scored again with three minutes left on the clock, when they benefited from a quick counter. Substitute Fasui Mubarak then scored a consolation