Burkina Faso 2-1 Nigeria: Golden Eaglets lose U17 World Cup ticket with last 8 defeat

Nigeria have been eliminated by Burkina Faso in the quarterfinal of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.

Heading into the contest, both West Africans are no strangers to each other at this level of competition as they have met on three occasions with Nigeria holding the bragging rights on two wins, while the Burkinabe won just once.

Unfortunately, the Golden Eaglets suffered a 2-1 defeat against their WAFU-B rivals, throwing away their qualification ticket for the upcoming 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup.

A brace from Aboubacar Camara gave coach Brahima Traore’s side the stunning upset against the five-time world champions at the Nelson Mandela Stadium despite Abubakar Abdullahi’s second half consolation.

The quarterfinal win sees Burkina Faso avenged their 2022 WAFU-B final loss to Nduka Ugbade’s boys after a 2-1 in a regional qualification tournament in Accra, Ghana.

The Golden Eaglets made a promising start to the contest but had themselves to blame for their profligacy in front of goal as they hit the woodwork and also failed to convert several begging chances inside the opening 30 minutes.

With the Nigerians failing to profit from their chances, the young Stallions grew in strength and confidence, with forward Aboubacar Sidiki Camara threatening to gain the lead on few occasions he came close.

On the brink of halftime, Burkina Faso gained the shock lead through Camara when he blast home from close range profiting grossly from a mix-up and miskicks of the Nigerian defense.

12 minutes into the second half, things went from bad to worse for the Nigerians when Camara doubled the lead for Burkina Faso from the penalty spot after Tockukwu Ogboji brought down a Burkinabe inside the box.

Ugbade’s boys, however found a response in the 67th minute when Abdullahi gave the Golden Eaglets a glimmer of hope off a brilliant pass from substitute Favour Daniel.

In the closing stages, the five-time world champions could not find the crucial equaliser before the final whistle.

The quarterfinal loss marks Nigeria absence from the FIFA U17 World Cup later this year.

While advancing Burkina Faso will slug it out against WAFU-A champions Senegal in the semifinals of the AFCON.