By Promise Eze
Nigeria’s U-17 football team, the Golden Eaglets, have crashed out of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Burkina Faso in the quarter-final match held at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers, Algeria, on Thursday.
The Eaglets started the game strongly, with Abdullahi Abubakar and Charles Agada both hitting the crossbar and woodwork respectively in the first 15 minutes. However, Burkina Faso grew into the game and put pressure on the Nigerian defense. They finally broke through in the 41st minute after a mistake by Tochukwu Ogboji gave Aboubacar Camara a chance to score.
Camara doubled Burkina Faso’s lead early in the second half after Ogboji brought down Souleymane Alio in the penalty area, leading to a penalty kick. Although Nigeria pulled one back through Abdullahi, they were unable to find an equalizer and were eliminated from the tournament.
The loss means that the Golden Eaglets will miss the Under-17 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place later in the year.
Burkina Faso will now face Senegal in the semi-finals, while Mali will play Morocco in the other match.
