Nigeria Flying Eagles have qualified for the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup Of Nations after a superb performance in the WAFU B U-20 Football Championship.
The Flying Eagles put up a brilliant performance in the WAFU B Championship hosted in Niamey, Niger Republic.
They emerged as Champions after thumping fellow West African rivals the Benin Republic 3-1 in a breathtaking final.
The U-20 WAFU B tournament is a cup winning qualifier for junior national teams in the continent from West Africa.
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The 2023 U-20 hosted in Egypt will also serve as a qualifying tournament for African teams for the upcoming U-20 World Cup.
Unlike their Beninese counterpart, who finished strong in their group, winning all three matches, the Flying Eagles won a game. In the group stage and drew the next.
They defeated the competition defending champions Ghana 2-0 before settling for a 2-2 draw with Burkina Faso.
In the knockout, the Nigeria Flying Eagles faced an uphill task as they were dragged to extra time by the determined Ivorians U-20 team.
The Nigeria Flying Eagles won the game after extra time, defeating the Ivorians 2-1. A 111th-minute strike by Ibrahim Yahaya was all the Flying Eagles needed to proceed to the final.
The Young Squirrels of the Benin Republic who came into the tournament smoking were to meet their doom in the hands of the Nigeria Flying Eagles.
It was a pulsating final between the two teams. The Flying Eagles opened the scoring in the 38th minute and doubled the lead in the 62nd my mute of the game.
The score line was tripled in the 74th minute when Ibrahim Mohammad beat the Beninese goalkeeper by tipping a volley into the net. The Flying Eagles were leading 3-0 with 16 minutes remaining.
In what appears to be a consolation goal for the Young Squirrels pulled one back to make it making the score line flipped to something more respectable 3-1.
Nigeria Flying Eagles are now WAFU B Champions. The two teams – Nigeria and Benin Republic, will represent West Africa in the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
