Golden Eaglets of Nigeria on Friday night beat the Young Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-1 to win the WAFU B Under-17 Championship at the Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana.
The under-17 championship’s final match saw Nigeria on the front foot early when forward Abubakar Abdullahi had threatened the Burkinabe rear as early as the 8th minute when his low drive streamed away from goal, but in the 22nd minute, he rose highest in the box to powerfully nod Emmanuel Michael’s perfect delivery into the net for Nigeria’s first goal.
In the 34th minute, Abdullahi missed a golden opportunity to make it two for himself and for Nigeria, but he flulled his lines, allowing the Stallions a respite.
The miss would knock hard seven minutes later, when Abdulrahman Ouedraogo, also with a header, equalized for Burkina Faso.
Congratulations are in order to the Golden Eaglets. Led by Nduka Ugbade. Massive well done, to the entire Nigeria U17 players and backroom staff! WAFU B Champions 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/XaUDv7bAqG
— Austin Eguavoen (@coacheguavoen) June 24, 2022
Stand Up For WAFU B U17 Kings
🇳🇬Golden Eaglets pic.twitter.com/ZqbYUANPcq
— FAST TRACK 🇳🇬 (@FastTrackNaija) June 24, 2022
Golden Eaglets are WAFU B U17 Champions after defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final.
Congratulations, NFF.
Kudos to Nduka Ugbade, his crew and backroom staff.
Thank you, Nigerians.
It will surely get better. pic.twitter.com/5JP89rtKpu— Francis Achi (@totorimaster) June 24, 2022
Two minutes into the second half, Abdullahi got his second and Nigeria’s second, taking the Golden Eaglets to a 2-1 lead.
However, 12 minutes later, he should have made it a hat-trick and Nigeria’s third but he lost the opportunity.
That loss could once more have proved costly, as the Stallions broke forward, only to see Nigeria goalkeeper Richard Odoh come up with a magnificent save.
In the 67th minute, Ebube Okeke rocked the crossbar from 25 yards, but there were to be no more goals and Nigeria collected a second regional diadem at the youth level five weeks after the U20 boys defeated neighbors Benin Republic in the final to win the WAFU B competition in the Niger Republic.
RECAP:
Few weeks after claiming the WAFU B U20 Championship, Nigeria again underscored her undoubted strength in youth football when she swept to the U17 title in the region, as five-time world champions Golden Eaglets edged the Young Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-1. pic.twitter.com/8MCWMnbqCq
— Adepoju Tobi Samuel 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) June 25, 2022
SPORTS: Few weeks after being crowned WAFU B U-20 champions, the Nigeria (@thenff) U-17 team has won another title in the region. The five-times world champions, Golden Eaglets, edged the Young Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-1 in Saturday’s final at the Cape Coast Stadium, Ghana. pic.twitter.com/TSbvPv64mB
— BNN 🇳🇬 Newsroom (@BNNng) June 25, 2022
Nigeria goalkeeper Richard Odoh was selected as the Man-of-the-Match. His compatriot Emmanuel Michael won the prize in all three previous matches against Ghana, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.
