Abdulmuiz Adeleke was the hero for Nigeria as the Flying Eagles secured a thrilling 3-0 victory over Togo in their second match of the WAFU B U20 Championship, Soccernet.ng reports.
The encounter witnessed a goalless first half, but youngster Adeleke burst to life early in the second period to net his second brace of the tournament. Abdoulaye Agbeloye added a late third.
Fresh from beating bitter rivals Ghana 4-2 in an intense opening match, the Flying Eagles looked off the pace in the first 45 minutes against a disciplined Togo team. Despite bossing much of the possession and wrestling territorial advantage, the reigning champions mustered zero shots on target heading into the halftime break.
However, barely two minutes into the second half, Togo's Young Sparrowhawks caved in to pressure as Adeleke broke free of his marker, raced into the box and slotted beneath the goalkeeper to break the deadlock.
The Flying Eagles were finally shaken off their slumber and just before the hour mark, Adeleke doubled Nigeria's advantage. The teen striker showed why he is highly rated by Chelsea as he outpaced a Togolese defender, rounded the goalie and side-footed the ball into an empty net.
Adeleke, who has already taken in trials at Chelsea and Strasbourg, is now the competition's top scorer with four goals, having netted a couple of penalties against Ghana's Black Satellites on matchday one.
With five minutes left on the clock, Agbeloye crowned Nigeria's effort with the third goal of the game to bring home another fine win.
What next for Nigeria's Flying Eagles?
With two wins from their first two games, Nigeria sit top of Group B with a slot in the competition's semifinals already secured.
The Flying Eagles will round up their group phase engagements with a clash against Burkina Faso on Sunday. Nigeria will be guaranteed top spot in Group B if they avoid defeat against the Baby Stallions.
Hosts Cote d'Ivoire are looking like the team to avoid in Group A after the Young Elephants powered to a 5-0 win over Benin Republic in their opening match. The home team currently top the group, followed by Niger who also forced a tough 1-0 defeat down the throat of Benin. The Beninese boys are the first to crash out of the tournament, as there are only three teams in the group.
Only the two WAFU B finalists will qualify for the next edition of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
