Two late goals from Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Monday night proved inadequate as they were beaten 3-2 by their Ivorian counterparts in the final match of the WAFU B Tournament in Lome, Togo.
The Coach Fatai Amoo tutored side were initially trailing by three goals, before mustering two late goals that saw them secure a respectable scoreline. It was, however, not enough to successfully defend the title they won the last term.
Having beaten the Eaglets by just one goal in the group stage before going on to beat Ghana 3-1 (a result that favoured the Nigeria U-17s), the Ivorians showed class yet again on Monday to claim the top prize at the WAFU B tournament.
The Baby Elephants shot ahead after 15 minutes before they doubled their lead on the hour.
Seydou Traore made it 3-0 in the 84th minute.
Nigeria then mounted a late fightback with substitute striker Ahmed Abdullahi’s two quickfire goals, but it was too little too late for the defending champions.
Burkina Faso placed third after they pipped Niger 10-9 on penalties after both teams played out a 1-1 in regulation time.
Despite Monday’s defeat, the Golden Eaglets have already achieved their primary target of qualifying for the 2021 U17 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Morocco from 13th – 31st March
