Nigeria’s male and female Under 20 national teams have both qualified for the final of the male and female football categories at the ongoing All Africa Games in Morocco.
The Flying Eagles qualified for the final after edging out their Malian opponents 5-4 on penalties on Tuesday, August 27, 2019. Both sides failed to hit the back of the net in a heated encounter which saw Nigeria’s captain Abubakar Ibrahim miss a penalty in the 21st minute of the encounter after Success Makanjuola was brought down in the 18-yard box. The Paul Aigbogun-tutored Eagles would go on to convert as many as five spot kicks into goals during a penalty shootout to deny the Malians passage into the final after 120 minutes of energy-sapping football.
The Super Falconets thrashed Algeria 3-0 to qualify for the final on Monday, August 26, 2019. A brace from Cynthia Aku, and a solo effort from Zainab Olopade was all the Falconets needed to emerge victorious. Coach Christopher Danjuma’s girls are favourites to clinch gold in the female football category, going into the final with great confidence after a series of decent performances.
While the Falconets prepare to confront Cameroon in the final showdown on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at the Boubker Aamar Stadium, the male team will vie for gold for the first time since 1973 against Burkina Faso on Friday, August 30, 2019.
Source:
Completesports
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