Alhassan Ibrahim’s 73rd minute goal was all that the flying Eagles needed to defeat host Niger Republic and eliminate them out of the 2019 CAF U20 African Cup of Nations.
Before this game, flying eagles of Nigeria only needed to avoid defeat to be sure of a semi final berth as well as a qualification spot at Poland 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup.
Niger Republic had a slight ball possessive lead in the game but they couldn’t turn their possessive game to a meaningful goal.
In the first half Niger: Rachid Alfari comes in for Boubacar Goumey who suffered from an injury. Mike Zaruma from Nigeria receives a yellow card in the first half as the first first ends in a Barren draw.
In the second half, knowing fully well that South Africa are leading Burundi by a goal, Niger Republic tried to get the all important goal only for their heart to be broken courtesy a free kick from Alhassan Ibrahim in the 73rd minute. The goal came off Niger goal keepers error as he didn’t calculate the cross thereby allowing the ball to bounce before crossing the line.
In the other Group A game, Luke Le Roux converts from penalty spot and scores for South Africa to earn them a 1-0 win over Burundi.
With these results, Nigeria and South Africa qualified for the semi final of the tournament as well as pick Africa’s qualification spots for Poland 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup along side Senegal.
Group A
Full Time
Niger 0-1 Nigeria
South Africa 1-0 Burundi
Final Table
1. Nigeria 7 points
2. South Africa 5 points
3. Niger 2 points
4. Burundi 1 point
