Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have qualified for the semi-finals of the WAFU B U17 tournament with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Togo on Thursday morning.
The game was initially slated for Wednesday evening, but a waterlogged pitch meant the game had to be moved to Thursday.
Two goals in the first half by Abdulmuiz Adeleke and Rapha Adams put Nigeria in the driving seat, and they made sure of the game with a third in the second half.
Needing to win by a three-goal margin to top the group, the Eaglets took control of the game from the onset.
Abdulmuiz Adeleke at the double
Adeleke, who got a brace in the game, should have put Nigeria ahead as early as the sixth minute but blazed his effort wide.
Five minutes later, he atoned for his earlier miss by putting the Golden Eaglets ahead from an assist by Abdulmuiz Oladimeji to set the Eaglets on their way.
Cletus Simon and Rapha Adams missed chances of their own as the Eaglets asserted their dominance on the game.
The second goal came in the 35th minute when Cletus Simon, who was the conductor of Nigeria’s best moves, swung in a cross which Rapha Adams headed home.
Togo barely had a sniff at Nigeria’s goal, and when they did, Eaglets goalkeeper Chinedu Dominic was up to the task.
The second half went the same way as the first, with Nigeria bossing the game.
Abdulmuiz Adeleke got his brace in the 57th minute when he raced onto a lob by Cletus Simon and, with the Togolese defense in sixes and sevens, slotted past the goalkeeper for Nigeria’s third goal.
Nigeria then had to defend resolutely as Togo upped their game after going three goals down.
However, it was Nigeria with more clear-cut chances to add to their lead, but they could not convert the opportunities that fell their way.
The Eaglets were then awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute after an infringement in the box, but Adeleke shot tamely, and the Togolese goalkeeper saved it.
Golden Eaglets to face Ivory Coast in semi-final
With the win, the Eaglets went top of the group on goal difference from Burkina Faso, as both teams finished with seven points from three games.
The Eaglets will now face the Ivory Coast on Saturday for a place in the final of the competition as they seek to defend the title they won two years ago.
The winner of each semi-final will qualify for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations.
Nigeria Line-up
Starting XI: Chinedu Dominic, Chinedu Sylvester, Daniel Mendie, Destiny Samuel, Abdulwaris Yunus, John Ogwuche, Rapha Adams, Simon Cletus, Oreoluwa Agbenla, Abdulmuiz Adeleke, Abdulmuiz Oladimeji.
Substitutes: Adekunle Adedigba, Edward Ochigbo, Imrana Muhammad, Qurib Adetola, Daniel Ariehi, Chinedu Chike.
