U17 AFCON: Golden Eaglets suffer first defeat against Triple O in friendly

The Nigeria U17 male national team suffered the first defeat of their preparatory games after losing 2-1 to Triple O.

The Golden Eaglets has been in camp preparing for the U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for Algeria from April 29 to May 19 and saw their unbeaten run halted by the Kaduna-based football academy on Wednesday.

Nduka Ugbade’s side started the day with a friendly match against Click Sports Academy of Lagos which they won 6-0 at the training ground of the Package B of the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja.

At the same venue, the team had another match-up for the day against the Triple O Academy as the highly contested game was entertaining as the team goes toe-to-toe to match Nduka Ugagbe boys in almost all areas of the pitch.

Triple O draw the first blood and maintained the lead into the break. The Golden Eaglet equalized early into the second half before a penalty was awarded to the visitors, which was converted to go 2-1 up.

A late penalty was awarded to change the fate of the Eaglets but the taker was unable to convert it as the boys tasted their first defeat in the preparatory matches.

As WAFU-B champions, Nigeria are seeking their third continental crown and have been drawn alongside Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia in Group B of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

The tournament which serves as Africa’s qualifier for the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup will see the four semifinalists represent Africa in Peru in November.