A 0-1 result means Morocco has earned all three points at the expense of Nigeria to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa U17 Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets wasted a basketful of opportunities in a match they dominated for large periods in Constantine on Wednesday May 3.
A 2nd minute own goal by Tochukwu Ogboji was all the Moroccans, who downed South Africa’s Amajimbo 2-0 on the opening day, needed to take it to within a step of booking a spot at this year’s FIFA U17 World Cup.
Just like in the game against Zambia, the Nigerian boys created chance after chance but were unable to convert any.
Abubakar Abdullahi should have done better than balloon the ball skywards after Emmanuel Michael put him through in the 21st minute, and captain Precious Williams also failed to make hay as the North Africans mounted an impregnable rearguard.
Defender Yahaya Lawali, who was again picked as Man-of-the-Match despite Nigeria’s loss, shot towards the sky with a through ball in the 69th minute. Substitutes Light Eke and Adewale Quadri provided the only real tests for the Moroccan goalkeeper in a frantic second period.
With the result, Nigeria will face third place South Africa on Saturday May 3, seeking maximum points to guarantee automatic qualification to the next round.
South Africa defeated Zambia 3-2 in the other group B match to go level on points with Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s game.
