By Dayo Awoniyi
The Nigerian U20 national team secured a convincing 2-0 win over hosts Cote d’Ivoire in an international friendly match at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Abidjan on Thursday.
The Flying Eagles engaged their West African rivals in a build up for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations scheduled to take place from April 26 to May 18.
The two teams will face off again on Friday, February 28, 2025 in the second friendly match at the same venue.
Captain Daniel Bameyi converted a penalty in the 63rd minute, and Divine Oliseh sealed the victory with a goal in the 80th minute.
The Nigerian team dominated the match from the start, and the hosts were lucky to go into halftime with the score still level.
The Flying Eagles have been drawn in Group B alongside Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco, while Cote d’Ivoire will compete in Group A.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
