Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets began their 2026 WAFU B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Niger in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Abdoul Razaq Zada opened the scoring for Niger in the 19th minute before Abdoul Rakilou doubled the advantage in the 86th minute.
Mubarak Fasiu pulled one back for Nigeria in the fifth minute of added time, but the late goal was insufficient to prevent the Eaglets from suffering defeat in their opening Group B fixture. The result handed Niger all three points and moved them to the top of the group with four points from two matches.
Niger also secured qualification for the semi-finals following the victory, while Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire remain in contention for the remaining spot. Côte d’Ivoire have one point from their opening match, while Nigeria are yet to earn a point. Both teams have a game in hand.
The Eaglets will now need a positive result in their next outing to strengthen their chances of advancing to the semi-finals and keeping their hopes of qualifying for the continental tournament alive. Niger’s Saminou Salissou Nouhou, who wore the number four shirt, was named Man of the Match for his influential performance in the victory.
The 2026 WAFU B U-17 tournament serves as a qualifying competition for the Africa Cup of Nations, with teams seeking to secure places at the continental finals. Tunde Eludini is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria where he studied International Relations. He is a Senior Correspondent coordinating the sports section for PREMIUM TIMES. Twitter: @tundeyeludini