Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will not feature at the 2026 Africa U17 Cup of Nations after a 2-0 defeat to Ghana’s Black Starlets in Yamoussoukro ended their qualification hopes on Tuesday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
The loss is another bitter setback for a nation that has long prided itself on youth football excellence.
Nigeria, five-time U17 world champions, have now missed consecutive editions of the cadet AFCON — the first time that has happened since 2009 and 2011.
The night had started with a glimmer of hope.
Barely two minutes in, a defensive mix-up in the Ghanaian backline gifted Nigeria a golden opening. But the Eaglets squandered the chance, setting the tone for a frustrating evening.
Ghana quickly grew into the contest, moving with purpose on the counter. Their breakthrough came in the 21st minute when Michael Awuli latched onto a swift transition and finished clinically. From there, the momentum shifted decisively.
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Ten minutes later, it got worse for Nigeria. A sharp exchange of passes sliced through their defence before Robinho Yao Gavi doubled Ghana’s lead with a composed strike.
The Eaglets did come close to halving the deficit, only to be denied by the crossbar.
Just before the interval, Ghana nearly landed a killer blow when captain Joseph Narbi weaved through Nigeria’s defence, only to fire wide in a one-on-one situation.
To their credit, Nigeria tightened up in the second half and looked steadier at the back. But the attacking fluency that once made the Golden Eaglets feared across the world was nowhere to be found.
Both teams traded chances in the closing stages, but the outcome was never in doubt.
This latest disappointment compounds last year’s setback in Ghana, where the Eaglets failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON after losing to Ivory Coast in the WAFU B semifinals. Their consolation 3-2 win over Ghana in the third-place playoff then was not enough to book a ticket.
Now, with another AFCON berth gone, Nigeria will have to regroup quickly ahead of the third-place playoff against Burkina Faso, who fell 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast earlier in the day.
The two sides already played out a goalless draw in the group stage.
For the Golden Eaglets, though, the larger story is about a fading pedigree. Once untouchable at this level, Nigeria now faces searching questions about how a production line that gave the world stars like Nwankwo Kanu, Mikel Obi, and Victor Osimhen has stalled so badly.
