Golden Eaglets To Arrive Nigeria Today After Securing Third Place At WAFU B U-17 Tournament

Golden Eaglets To Arrive Nigeria Today After Securing Third Place At WAFU B U-17 Tournament

By Niyi Busari 

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria are scheduled to return home today following their third-place finish at the 2025 WAFU B U-17 Championship held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Nigeria began the tournament strongly, topping their group with four points. However, the five-time world champions fell short in the semi-finals, suffering a 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals Ghana. The loss ended their hopes of clinching a spot in the final and a potential qualification for the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

In the third-place playoff on Friday , the Eaglets bounced back with a solid performance, defeating Burkina Faso 2-0. The breakthrough came in the 50th minute when Ahmed Yusuf fired in a low drive from outside the box. Substitute Famous Umole doubled Nigeria’s lead in the 77th minute after latching onto a defence-splitting pass from Paul Ugwu.

Ahmed Yusuf’s commanding display earned him the Man of the Match award.

Despite the bronze medal finish, Nigeria and Burkina Faso both missed out on qualification for the 2025 CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, which will feature finalists Ghana and hosts Côte d'Ivoire. The final of the WAFU B tournament between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire is set to take place today, Saturday, October 4.

The Golden Eaglets are expected to depart Côte d'Ivoire later today.