Nigeria 3-1 Niger: Flying Eagles qualify for U20 AFCON, set up final clash with eternal rivals Ghana

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles are through to the final of the WAFU B U20 Championship following their 3-1 win over the Niger Republic in Togo on Sunday night, Soccernet.ng reports.

The defending champions came back from a goal deficit to secure their second victory at the tournament. 

The emphatic win over Niger also sees Nigeria qualify for the next edition of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by South Africa. 

An excellent brace from Clinton Jephta and an equally brilliant strike by Alonge Olalekan earned Nigeria a deserved victory over their West African neighbours.

How it happened

Nigeria started brightly at the Stade de Kegue in Lome, the capital city of Togo, but it was Niger who broke the deadlock ten minutes into the first half.

However, the Flying Eagles pressed their advantage and got the equaliser just before the interval as Jephta fired an unstoppable low effort into the bottom corner of the Nigerien goal.

Jephta completed Nigeria’s turnaround with a smart shot from just inside the penalty box shortly after the restart before Olalekan made sure of the victory deep into stoppage time.

With the win, Nigeria advanced to the final of the WAFU B U20 Championship where they will look to defend the title they won two years ago.

In the final, the Flying Eagles will face bitter rivals Ghana’s Black Satellites who defeated Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 in the other semifinal fixture.

Both Nigeria and Ghana have already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa next year.