Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets suffered a heartbreaking loss, ending their run at the 2023 CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals, following a 2-1 defeat by Burkina Faso at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Thursday.
The defeat also means that Nigeria will not be one of the four African nations to raise the African flag at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Despite finishing second in their group, the Golden Eaglets were slight favorites over a Burkina Faso side they defeated 2-1 in the final of the WAFU B regional championship a few months ago.
On the night, the Eaglets were the more dominant side but lost several chances in the opening twenty minutes to have gone nil up.
Burkina Faso, on the other hand, found the back of the net when forward Camara slotted home from close range following some sloppy play by the Eaglets.
The night became more bleak for the Nigerians after Camara grabbed a brace from the penalty spot 12 minutes into the second half.
Abubakar Abdullahi offered the Golden Eaglets a glimmer of hope in the 67th minute when he scored off a cross from substitute Daniel.
The Nduka Ugbade team, on the other hand, was unable to find the crucial equalizer to force the game into extra time.
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Despite their efforts, the five-time world champions were unable to score the much-needed equalizer before the final whistle, ultimately resulting in their elimination from the FIFA U17 World Cup later this year.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso secures a spot in the semifinals of the AFCON and will face the high-flying Senegal.
