The Nigeria national under-17 boys team booked their place in the final of the WAFU B regional tournament after pulling off a surprise victory over their much-fancied foes
The Golden Eaglets defeated tournament favourites Burkina Faso 1-0 on Friday evening to advance to the final of the WAFU B AFCON qualifying tournament in spectacular style.
Michael Emmanuel Papo’s strike in the 77th minute was all the coach Fatai Amoo-tutored boys needed to send Burkina Faso out of the race for Morocco 2021.
Burkina Faso were one of the teams tipped to go all the way in the competition following their excellent outing so far.
The one-time African champions had emerged Group A winners with four points, having defeated the Benin Republic 5-1 and drew 0-0 against the Niger Republic.
Many expected them to power past the Golden Eaglets with ease after Nigeria only managed to sneak into the semifinal of the tournament on Wednesday, thanks to Ivory Coast’s 3-1 victory over Ghana.
The Golden Eaglets went through to the last four with just a point – earned in a 1-1 draw against the Black Starlets – and a better goals difference than arch-rivals Ghana to set up Friday’s epic clash.
But it was the five-time world champions who triumphed over their opponents after keeping a clean sheet against the competition’s most prolific team.
The Nigeria U-17 team will next face the winner of the other semifinal faceoff between Ivory Coast and the Benin Republic.
The Golden Eaglets have also secured their spot at the African U17 Cup of Nations billed for Morocco later in the year.
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