Nigeria Crash Out of 2025 U-17 AFCON, Misses World Cup

By Amaechi Agbo

For the third straight editions, five-time champions, Nigeria will miss out again in the 2025 U-17 World Cup following the elimination of the Golden Eaglets from the qualifiers
The Manu garba led lads were hammered 2-0 on Tuesday by Ghana in their semi-final match at the ongoing WAFU B U-17 Tournament in Ivory Coast.
The Black Starlets scored twice in the opening half of the game at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium to ensure they advanced at the expense of Golden Eaglets who were far from being golden.
Michael Awuli opened the scoring for Prosper Ogum’s side after just 21 minutes played, finishing off a nice move from the Starlets.
Ten minutes later, Robinho Yao Gavi doubled the lead for the team with a brilliant strike from the 18-yard box to put Ghana in a comfortable situation.
Nigeria grew into the game, but goalkeeper Solomon Kwame produced two brilliant saves before halftime to preserve the advantage. Joseph twice threatened to extend the lead but was denied.
The second half saw Ghana adopt a compact shape, relying on counterattacks while Kwame remained solid, notably with an 80th-minute save.
The Black Starlets goalkeeper Solomon Kwame Kesse came to the rescue of the team on a few occasions to deny the Nigerians from coming back into the game.
Ogum’s side continued their dominance and authority in the game as they held on after recess to seal a 2-0 win and qualify for the final of the tournament.
With their victory over Nigeria, the Black Starlets will now face Cote d’Ivoire in the final, which is scheduled for Friday, October 3.
The two teams met in the group stage, with Ghana losing 0-3 to the hosts.
Ghana’s appearance in the final also means they seal a slot at the next edition of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, returning to the continental tournament for the first time since 2017. On the other hand, Nigeria has been sent packing from the competition as they will now go home to wait for next qualifying series to try their luck.
The 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup will hold in Qatar next month.