President, Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, has expressed his delight at the Flying Eagles’ vast improvement at the 2024 WAFU Zone B U-20 Championship in Lome, Togo, where they will face off against archrivals Ghana in the final on Wednesday.
Reflecting on the team’s 3-1 win over Niger Republic in the semifinal on Sunday, Gusau said he noticed an improvement in their game, having watched them lose 1-0 to Burkina Faso in their opening match, and that he was confident they will retain the title by beating Ghana in the final.
He said, “I commend the fighting spirit of the Flying Eagles in reaching the final of the WAFU B U20 Championship and, in the process, winning a slot at the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations. I watched their first match against Burkina Faso (which they lost 0-1), but the team has continued to improve with every match since then.
“The NFF is delighted with their performance. We believe they have what it takes to go all the way and successfully defend their title against the Ghanaians in Wednesday’s final.”
The team came from behind to beat Junior Mena, earning a ticket to next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations alongside Ghana, who defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 in the other semifinal match.
The neighbours to the north went in front after only nine minutes of the second semi-final at the Stade Kegue, but just as they did against Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday, the seven-time African champions were unruffled. Instead, they found a better shape and dominated afterwards, scoring three marvellous goals that took them to the final.
Clinton Jephta finished with aplomb from outside the box to put the Flying Eagles on level terms in the 35th minute, after an eye-catching interchange of passes among Kparobo Arierhi, Abba Maigari, and Nasiru Salihu.
Jephta was on song again 13 minutes after the restart, putting Nigeria ahead for the first time in the match, while Olalekan Alonge netted the third in added time.