Nigeria suffered a 3 – 2 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire in the final of the 2021 WAFU U-17 championship at the Stade Kegue in Lome, Togo on Monday.
With qualification for CAF U17 African cup of Nations already in the bag, the Eaglets fell short of lifting the championship.
The Baby Elephants, who were unbeaten through the group stages, scored the opener from a corner kick in the 15th minute.
They almost doubled in the 32nd minute, but Eaglets goalkeeper Destiny Umuwahen saved a goal bound shot from attacker Charles Likpa.
In the 42nd minute, the Eaglets came close to leveling but a long range effort from Christian Nwachukwu sailed over the bar.
Eventually, the Ivorians doubled their lead in the 59th minute through Abdrumane Konate, who tapped in from close range.
Substitute Seydou Traore scored the third for the Ivorians in the 84th minute before two late goals from Eaglets’s star Ahmed Abdullahi made the scoreline more respectable.
The Eaglets will now return home and start preparations for the 2021 Africa U17 Cup of Nations holding in Morocco in March.
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