Burkina Faso beat Golden Eaglets to AFCON semi-final, World Cup tickets
In a gritty quarter-final encounter at the Africa U17 Cup held in Algiers on Thursday, Burkina Faso's Young Etalons successfully seized the limited opportunities presented to them, leading to a 2-1 defeat over Nigeria.
This defeat not only resulted in their elimination from the tournament, but it also dashed the hopes of the five-time world champions of securing a ticket to the FIFA World Cup. Despite creating a multitude of opportunities,
Nigeria was consistently thwarted either by the posts or the exceptional performance of Burkina Faso's goalkeeper, Isidore.
Charles Agada, who marked Nigeria's first goal against South Africa in their previous group phase, missed an early opportunity in the second minute. Abubakar Abdullahi, another key player from Nigeria's 3-2 triumph over South Africa, also rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot in the seventh minute.
Agada was once again denied by the upright during a box scuffle at the 15-minute mark, and then had his shot saved by the opposing goalkeeper with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
In the 40th minute, Jeremiah Olaleke saved Nigeria from further embarrassment by clearing the ball from the goal-line as goalkeeper Richard Odoh was out of position. However, Olaleke's blunder within the box after Odoh had parried an inswinging cross gave Burkina Faso's Aboubacar Camara the opportunity to put his team in the lead just as the halftime whistle blew.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Burkina Faso further extended their lead when Camara converted a penalty past Odoh, following a foul on Souleymane Alio, who had previously scored two goals against Cameroon to secure Burkina Faso's place in the quarterfinals.
Nigeria's Abubakar Abdullahi managed to score a goal in the 67th minute, assisted by Favour Daniel and Emmanuel Michael. However, the Burkinabes held their ground, managing to secure a remarkable victory, a spot in the AFCON semi-finals, and a ticket to the FIFA World Cup.
