Nigeria clinched their spot in the semifinals of the WAFU-Zone B qualifying competition for the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations on Tuesday after defeating Togo 3-1 to make it two wins from two games. Goals from Kevwe Iyede, Precious Williams and Light Eke were enough for Nigeria, whose lead never looked in doubt despite Komi Ahouankpo pulling one back for the Togolese in the 75th minute. The Golden Eaglets are top of Group A with six points, leaving Ghana and Togo to duel for second place when the two teams meet on Friday.
After escaping a near miss from Togo inside the opening ten minutes, the Golden Eaglets struck first in the 11th minute when Williams got behind the defense and lifted his shot over the onrushing Togolese keeper before Iyede finished past two defenders rushing back to guard the goal. Williams got on the score sheet himself in the 23rd minute to double Nigeria’s lead, taking a perfectly weighted through ball before finishing past the stranded keeper.
Togo were competitive throughout the match but could not finish on the occasions when they created shooting opportunities until pulling one back with fifteen minutes to play. Ahouankpo curled in a beauty of a free kick to cut the deficit in half following a foul outside the Nigerian penalty area but soon after Nigeria would restore the two-goal advantage. A minute after previously being denied by the goalkeeper, Eke made no mistake when a lofted ball was flicked into the area for him to nod in and the three points were secure for Nigeria.
Highlights of Tuesday’s match are below.
