Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing WAFU B U17 Championship in Ghana with a 3-0 victory over Togo, securing the top spot in Group B. They will face Ivory Coast in the last four.
The match which was originally scheduled for Wednesday evening, was postponed to Thursday morning due to a waterlogged pitch following heavy rainfall.
Golden Eaglets forward Abdulmuiz Adeleke played a crucial role in the morning encounter, scoring twice, while Rapha Adams added his second goal of the tournament, bolstering his rising reputation.
Adeleke missed an early chance to put Nigeria ahead in the 6th minute but redeemed himself five minutes later, scoring with an assist from Abdulmuiz Oladimeji, easing the pressure on a Togolese side that had lost its previous two games.
Adams, who scored the only goal in Nigeria’s win over Niger Republic on Sunday, came close in the 20th minute off another pass from Oladimeji but missed the target. However, he made no mistake 15 minutes later, heading in a superb cross from captain Simon Cletus.
Adeleke secured his brace and Nigeria’s third goal in the 57th minute, again assisted by Cletus. He had a chance for a hat-trick but missed a penalty in the 68th minute.
Nigeria’s Edward Ochigbo was named Player of the Match.
With this victory, the Golden Eaglets topped Group B after Burkina Faso defeated Niger Republic 1-0 in the group’s other match.
Nigeria will now face Ivory Coast in the second semi-final on Saturday evening (7 PM Nigeria time), following the first semi-final between Ghana and Burkina Faso.
