Unlucky Golden Eaglets Lose WAFU U-17 Cup To Cote d’ Ivoire

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Monday came close to producing a stunning comeback from three goals down before losing 2-3 to their Ivorian counterparts in the final of the WAFU U-17 Cup tournament in Lome, Togo.

The impressive Baby Elephants, who had won all their previous three games in the tournament (1-0 over Nigeria; 3-1 over Ghana and; 1-0 over Niger Republic), raced to a 1-0 first-half lead and then added two more before the 70th minute, leaving five-time world champions Nigeria miserable and looking out for ways to get back into the game.

However, the Eaglets pulled themselves together and scored two quick goals late in the game to earn a respectable result, as both teams proudly picked tickets to the 2021 Africa U17 Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco from 13th -31st March.

In the third-place match fixture, Burkina Faso’s Baby Etalons, who lost 0-1 to Nigeria in the semi-finals, grabbed the tournament’s bronze medal after an 11-10 penalty shoot-out win over Niger Republic following 1-1 draw.

The Golden Eaglets’ contingent is expected back in the country today.