By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles capitulated to a 0-1 defeat in the hands of The Gambia in the semi-final of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Egypt.
Enroute to the final of the 17th U20 AFCON, Nigeria failed to capitalise on their opponents’ down time, after they were reduced to 10 men on the pitch at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday evening.
Lanky forward Adama Bojang, latched on a defensive slip by Captain, Daniel Bameyi to slot beyond Goalkeeper, Chijioke Aniagboso, for the only goal of the match in the 7th minute.
It was the only goal Aniagboso had conceded in the tournament.
Nigeria’s rapid raiders Ibrahim Muhammad, Samson Lawal, Haliru Sarki and Francis Abubakar, failed to get their strikes on target, and in the second half, Belgium-based forward Ahmed Abdullahi struck the base of the upright from the penalty spot, as the Flying Eagles put every foot wrong.
Defender Benjamin Frederick, showed grit and intention in the 77th minute but his efforts were foiled close to goal. Two minutes into added time, Onuche Ogbelu’s rising shot rose too high.
The Gambia’s Young Lions will take on Senegal’s Young Lions of the Teranga in Saturday’s Final.
The Group A winners sliced Tunisia to bits in a 3-0 win in the first semi-final played at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia earlier in the day.
Seven-time champions Nigeria will play for the bronze medals against Tunisia on Friday.
Nigeria though, randomly poor since the beginning of the competition, struggled to reach the semi-final stage to pick one of the World Cup tickets
Tunisia, Senegal and Gambia are other African teams that booked a place at the global tournament.
