Nigeria’s dream of featuring at the 2026 Africa U17 Cup of Nations has ended after a 2-0 loss to Ghana in Yamoussoukro on Tuesday night. The defeat knocked the Golden Eaglets out of the WAFU B qualifying tournament and extended a worrying trend for a side once synonymous with youth success.
The match began with a burst of promise as a Ghanaian defensive error handed Nigeria an early chance, but the Eaglets failed to capitalize. That miss proved costly, with Ghana seizing control soon after. Michael Awuli struck in the 21st minute following a swift counter, and Robinho Yao Gavi added a second ten minutes later to put Nigeria firmly on the back foot.
Nigeria fought to respond, twice coming close, including a powerful effort that rattled the crossbar but their usual sharpness in attack was missing. Ghana might have stretched the scoreline further before halftime when captain Joseph Narbi found himself clear on goal but fired wide.
The second half brought more balance, with the Eaglets tightening up defensively, yet they lacked the cutting edge to mount a comeback. Ghana’s two-goal cushion held firm until the final whistle, leaving Nigeria out of the U17 AFCON for a second successive cycle, something that has not happened since 2009 and 2011.
Nigeria missed out in last year’s qualification, when the Eaglets fell to Ivory Coast in the WAFU B semifinals and went on to defeat Ghana in a third-place match.
The Eaglets will now turn their attention to the third-place playoff against Burkina Faso as they look to end the tournament on a positive note.
