Flying Eagles win on penalties against Côte d’Ivoire to reach WAFU B U-20 final

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles played a thrilling match on Wednesday, beating hosts Côte d’Ivoire 4-3 on penalties to secure a spot in the WAFU B U-20 Championship final. The semi-final ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time.

Goalkeeper Lawani Clinton became Nigeria’s hero. He made two vital saves during the penalty shootout, helping the seven-time African champions move on to the final.

Côte d’Ivoire started strong. They scored the first goal in the 18th minute after controlling the early part of the game.

Nigeria didn’t back down. In the second half, captain Habila Simeon equalized in the 68th minute, heading the ball into the net to make it 1-1.

This goal ended Côte d’Ivoire’s clean sheet streak in the tournament.

The Flying Eagles turned the game around in the first half of extra time. Abubakar Aliyu scored, giving Nigeria a 2-1 lead for the first time.

But the Ivorians fought hard. They equalized deep into added time of extra time, making the score 2-2 and forcing a penalty shootout.

Simeon missed Nigeria’s second penalty, putting pressure on the team. But Clinton stepped up big time. He saved two penalties from the Ivorian players, which helped Nigeria win the shootout 4-3 and advance to the championship match.