Nigeria U-20 Team Starts Strong with Win Against Ghana

Nigeria’s Under-20 head coach, Abdu Maikaba, said the Flying Eagles missed many chances to score after beating Ghana 4-2 in their WAFU B U-20 Championship opener in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, on Monday.

Muiz Adeleke scored two goals, while Olayemi Ayinla and Oraro Lucky added one each. This win was Maikaba’s first competitive game as head coach. Nigeria played well but conceded two goals, making the score closer than their performance showed.

Ayinla scored the first goal just six minutes into the match. Lucky followed up with another goal in the 30th minute. Adeleke added a third goal just before halftime, putting Nigeria in a strong position.

Ghana responded and brought the score to 3-2, making the game more tense. In the 89th minute, Adeleke scored from a penalty to secure the victory for Nigeria.

Looking back at the game, Maikaba noted that Nigeria had chances to score even more goals but did not stay calm in front of the net. “If you see the last ten minutes of the game, we created about three or four scoring opportunities which we missed narrowly,” he said.

Maikaba added, “I believe our boys were so anxious to make it count; that is why they lost such opportunities. They would have been calm in front of goal and converted such chances. It would have been more than four.”

He also praised the team’s strong start, which was part of his game plan. “We planned that we have to try and score in the opening 15 minutes, and we got it in the first five. Ghana were able to come back, but we are still determined to continue with the lead,” Maikaba said.

“Anytime Nigeria is playing Ghana, it is a tough game. It can go either way, but scoring first gave us that advantage.”

This win puts Nigeria on track to win the WAFU B U-20 title for the third time in a row. They won the tournament in 2022 and defended their title in 2024 with a 2-1 victory over Ghana.

Next, the Flying Eagles will play Togo on July 30. They will finish their group matches against Burkina Faso on August 2. Both matches will start at 2pm local time (3pm Nigeria time) at the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro.