The Golden Eagles failed to keep a fourth consecutive clean sheet as they lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of the 2024 WAFU B U17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the University of Ghana Stadium on Saturday night.
The Ivory Coast had the upper hand and scored their first shot of the game after a defensive error by Nigeria.
In the 32nd minute, the Golden Eagles finally got a chance to threaten the Ivory Coast goal. Simon Clitus intercepted the pass and then passed the ball to Abdulmuiz Adeleke. Adeleke failed to convert the opportunity into a goal.
In first-half stoppage time, Ivory Coast almost took the lead after breaking through Nigeria’s defense, but failed to get a shot on target. Four minutes after the restart, they were again in danger of a Golden Eagles goal, but a late defensive block prevented them from putting the ball in the back of the net.
In the 55th minute, the Elephants finally opened the scoring through Youba Koulibaly, whose accurate shot was blocked by Chinedu Dominic.
The Ivorians almost doubled their lead in the 73rd minute as they overwhelmed the Eagles defense but could not muster enough to trouble Dominic. Manu Garba’s boys almost restored the tie after Rapha Adams set up Cletus, but his attempt was incredibly blocked.
They had a chance in the ensuing corner, but Imrana Mohammed’s powerful header went just wide of the target. Adams tried to equalize with an ambitious overhead kick but couldn’t muster enough power or accuracy to put the shot into the back of the net.
With five minutes left before the end of normal time, John Ogwuche did well to get into the danger area and pass the ball to Adeleke, who couldn’t put down the try.
In the seconds of stoppage time, Ogwuche also tried his luck to equalize the score, but his shot failed to hit the target.
Ivory Coast could have doubled their lead seconds after the final whistle, but Dominic’s fine save halted their attack. Abdulkarim Abdulhamid
