Nigeria’s U17 team, the Golden Eaglets kicked off their 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations tournament with a 1-0 win over Zambia at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, Algeria, on Sunday.
The Nduka Ugbade-led side put up a dominant performance and were deserved winners thanks to a 76th-minute strike from Favour Daniel.
FULL-TIME! ⏰
???????? Nigeria left it late to claim the 3️⃣ points against Zambia ????#TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 pic.twitter.com/LLZ9fZODlJ
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 ???? (@CAF_Online) April 30, 2023
The Nigerians started the game lively and thought they had broken the deadlock in the 13th minute. However, the goal was rightly ruled out for offside.
Star forward and captain Precious Williams was close to putting the Golden Eaglets ahead, but he missed a glaring chance in the 39th minute. They were almost left to rue their missed chances as the Zambians came close to opening the scoring but were denied by the crossbar.
Nigeria began the second half where they left off, controlling possession and asking lots of questions of their opponents.
They finally got their goal through Daniel after the forward pounced on a loose ball in the danger area.
The Golden Eaglets were close to doubling their lead after they were awarded a penalty, but substitute Light Eke failed to convert the spotkick.
What a performance! ????????
Ladies and getlemen, Yahaya Danjuma lawali is the #NGAZAM TotalEnergies Man of the Match! ???? #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/CWBRw3iiQr
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 ???? (@CAF_Online) April 30, 2023
Right-back Yahaya Danjuma Lawali, who was brilliant all through the game was award the man of the match award.
In their next Group B match, Nigeria will be up against North African powerhouse Morocco on Wednesday, May 3, and a win will increase their hopes of qualification to the knockout stages.
