By Obaloluwa Joshua, LAGOS
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets finished third at WAFU B U-17 Championship following a 3-2 victory over hosts Ghana.
However, Manu Garba’s boys failed to book a place at next year’s Africa U-17 Cup of Nations despite the win.
Imrana Muhammad gave Nigeria the lead in the ninth minute.
The Black Starlets fought back with Harve Gbafa netting the equaliser 10 minutes later.
Gbafa scored his second of the game three minutes before half hour mark capitalising on an error by a Nigerian defender.
Nigeria levelled four minutes before the break after a superb attacking play.
Abdulmuiz Adeleke nodded home from a John Ogwuche cross.
Adeleke fired home the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time.
The young forward finished the competition with four goals.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has clarified that next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations will still have 12 finalists in attendance, as against the minimum of 16 teams being projected by African football enthusiasts.
This means that despite defeating host nation Ghana in Tuesday’s third-place match of the WAFU B U17 Championship, the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have not qualified for the finals. READ ALSO:
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“The final tournament will still have 12 teams,” CAF’s Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu, told thenff.com.
Expectations had been high among African football aficionados that the 2025 Africa U17 Cup of Nations would be expanded, following FIFA’s allocation, at its Congress in Bangkok, penultimate week, of 10 slots to the continent for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup that Qatar has been designated to host.
Qatar will host five consecutive FIFA U17 World Cup finals beginning next year, each having 48 teams in attendance.
