U17 AFCON Qualifiers: Golden Eaglets Lose to Burkina Faso, To Face Ivory Coast on Thursday

By Admin The cadet team’s aspiration of qualifying for Tanzania 2019 suffered a setback as they lost their first game on Monday Nigeria U17 lost 3-2 to Burkina Faso U17 in their opening game of Wafu B Zone qualifiers for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations taking place in Niger Republic. The Golden Eaglets missed the chance of defending their world title in India following their inability to qualify for the African edition staged in Gabon. And they were hoping to make a return to the global stage by qualifying for Tanzania 2019. However, they made a false start losing to the west Africans at the Stade Municipal, Niamey. Within the space of six minutes after kickoff, Abdoul Komi and Jean Fiacre Kouame handed Burkina Faso a two-goal lead as Manu Garba’s boys were made to pay for their careless defending. That brought the best out of the Eaglets as they equalised before the half-time break thanks to Olakunle Olusegun’s brace. Nonetheless, Mubarak Compaore had the final say with the winning goal four minutes from full time. Nigeria must win their last two games against Cote d’Ivoire and Benin Republic to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-final.