WAFU U-20: Flying Eagles lose to Ghana, on verge of elimination

NIGERIA’s Flying Eagles are on the brink of elimination from the WAFU U-20 tournament after a 1-0 defeat to Ghana in Port Novo, Republic of Benin on Wednesday.

Sulemana Mohammed scored the only goal of the match.

Ladan Bosso’s team needed to beat their fierce West African rivals in order to ensure passage into the semi-finals following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Cote d’Ivoire.

Instead, it was the Black Satellites who had the upper hand on Wednesday with a second-half goal that undid all of Nigeria’s good work.

The Flying Eagles were the more positive team in the first half, creating several scoring chances.

But they missed these opportunities and went into the break scoreless.Ghana grew into the game in the second half and Muhammed scored via a direct freekick with eight minutes left on the clock.

The Nigerian side had also conceded a late goal against Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday, surrendering their 1-0 lead in added time.

With just one point from their two games, the Flying Eagles now rely on Ghana to beat Cote d’Ivoire by at least a two-goal margin to qualify from the three-team group.

Ghana confirmed their place in the semi-finals with the win, and Cote d’Ivoire would join them if they both play a draw.

The WAFU competition is one of the qualifying competitions for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for 2021.