Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets advanced into the quarter-final of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations after defeating South Africa 3-2 in their final group fixture.
Nduka Ugbade’s boys found themselves behind twice in the encounter before Abubakar Abdullahi scored the match-winning goal, four minutes after the hour-mark.
As shown in their previous game against Zambia, South Africa started the encounter on the front foot by breaking the deadlock in Constantine as early as in the sixth minute.
Vicky Mkhawana found the back of the net through a corner-kick and the Golden Eaglets responded instantly but Charles Agada’s effort was flagged for offside.
Nigeria’s persistence finally paid off in the 34th minute with Agada scoring the equaliser off a corner-kick with a header.
Chances kept begging for the five-time U17 World Cup champions but they lacked the cutting edge to go ahead before the break.
The Golden Eaglets paid for their missed chances as Siyabonga Mabena scored a last-minute goal before the half-time to restore South Africa’s lead.
The second 45 minutes started in an exciting fashion with Light Eke scoring another equaliser, a few seconds after the restart.
A few minutes later, Abdullahi tapped in the decisive goal that sealed maximum points for Ugbade’s team.
In the other Group B fixture, Zambia stunned leaders Morocco by coming from behind for a 2-1 win.
Nigeria will face the winner of the game between Cameroon and Burkina Faso in the quarter-final on May 11.
