By: Abdulquadir Adedapo

Golden Eaglet vice-captain Yahaya Lawal has been rewarded for his brilliant performance at the just concluded WAFU U-17 Zone B tournament in Ghana after he was named in the team of the tournament by the organizers.

The skillful right back was one of the shining lights for the coach Nduka Ugbade as Nigeria once again proved to be a dominant force in the sub-region having captured both the U-20 and U-17 titles.

The Mahanaim FC right-back featured in all four games for the Golden Eaglets and contributed 3 assists to help Nigeria win the trophy and also reach the AFCON U-17 proper next year in Algeria.

Popularly called Lawali by the commentators in Ghana, the rise of the non-league player comes as no surprise to many who have watched him grow with ace journalist Tobi Adepoju describing the player as one for the future.

Lawali was one of 5 Nigerian players with goalkeeper Richard Odoh, free kicks specialist Michel Emmanuel, defender Jeremiah Olaleke and finalist hero Abubakar Abdullahi also named on the list.

Few weeks after claiming the WAFU B U20 Championship, Nigeria again underscored her undoubted strength in youth football when she swept to the U17 title in the region, as five-time world champions Golden Eaglets edged the Young Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-1 in Saturday’s final at the Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana.

Forward Abubakar Abdullahi had threatened the Burkinabe rear as early as the 8^th minute when his low drive streamed away from goal, but in the 22^nd minute, he rose highest in the box to powerfully nod Emmanuel Michael’s perfect delivery into the net for Nigeria’s first goal.

In the 34^th minute, Abdullahi missed a golden opportunity to make it two for himself and for Nigeria, but he flulled his lines, allowing the Stallions a respite. The miss would knock hard seven minutes later, when Abdulramane Ouedraogo, also with a header, equalized for Burkina Faso.

Two minutes into the second half, Abdullahi got his second and Nigeria’s second, taking the Golden Eaglets to a 2-1 lead. However, 12 minutes later, he should have made it a hat-trick and Nigeria’s third but he lost the opportunity.

That loss could once more have proved costly, as the Stallions broke forward, only to see Nigeria goalkeeper Richard Odoh come up with a magnificent save.

In the 67^th minute, Ebube Okeke rocked the crossbar from 25 yards, but there were to be no more goals and Nigeria collected a second regional diadem at youth level five weeks after the U20 boys defeated neighbours Benin Republic in the final to win the WAFU B competition in Niger Republic.

Nigeria goalkeeper Richard Odoh was selected the Man-of-the-Match. His compatriot Emmanuel Michael won the prize in all three previous matches against Ghana, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. 

Flying Eagles winger Ibrahim Mohammed Beji has assured football lovers back home in Nigeria that the team remains committed to achieving their goal at the ongoing WAFU U-20 Zone B championship as they prepare to take on the Young Elephants in the semifinals.

The Maikunkele FC attacker who is Nigeria’s top scorer in the competition stated that a game against Ivory Coast won’t be easy but the boys have seen clips of their games and would be prepared for the challenge on Tuesday.

“I am excited with our progress here in Niamey, we have crossed the first hurdle which is to qualify from the group and now we must take it further by going past the Les Petits Elephants in the semifinals tomorrow.

“We are aware of the threat they will bring, they won two games in their group and that’s enough for us to be wary of them, but as Nigerians, we remain determined to win and scale through to the finals of the competition.

When asked about his goalscoring prowess at the competition, the Eagle’s number 11 stated that it doesn’t matter who scores for the team but would always give his all on and off the field of play.

The Ladan Bosso led boys would take on the Young Elephants in the second semifinals on Tuesday evening with the winner of the tie advancing to the AFCON U-20 Championship proper in Egypt next year.

By: Abdulquadir Adedapo

Flying Eagles forward Ibrahim Muhammed Beji has promised not to drop his guard when they take to the field on Tuesday evening in their second game at the ongoing WAFU Zone B U-20 qualifiers in Niger as they bid to reach the semifinals of the competition.

The Maikunkele FC striker grabbed the headlines on Sunday when he scored and produced a man-of-the-match performance for Nigeria in their 2-0 win over eternal rivals Ghana to take supremacy of group B.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s game against Burkina Faso, the Flying Eagles winger promised Nigerians that the team would not be complacent against their opponents as they bid to return smiles to the faces of football lovers back home.

“I am happy for the way we have started here in Niger, I am grateful for the opportunity to represent my country, and scoring the first goal of the tournament even makes it special for me and my family as well.

“On Wednesday we go again in our second match, we are not in the next round yet so we would approach the game like the first, we want to win and win well to please the fans back home in Nigeria.

Muhammad further went on to praise the Technical crew led by Ladan Bosso stating that the coaches have instilled discipline and the right tactics into every member of the team.

The Flying Eagles need just a point to top group B and advance to the semifinals having defeated the Black Satellite of Ghana 2-0 in their opening game last Sunday.

Flying Eagles Forward Ibrahim Muhammad Beji produced an outstanding performance for Nigeria on Wednesday night as he scored one of the goals for the Ladan Bosso-led boys in their 4-0 trashing of Ligue 1 club side Olympic Niamey.

Having been named in the final 28-man list for the competition which begins this Friday, the Maikunkele FC striker showed his scoring prowess in the encounter as he rounded up scoring for the Flying Eagles who head into the competition is undefeated in their friendlies.

The goal further shows the strength of the attacker who had been one of the stand-out players for the Flying Eagles from their camping in Nigeria until their departure to Niger for the tournament proper.

Brought it into the squad after impressing for his Club in the NLO, Beji showed why he deserved to be in the final team with an eye-catching performance in the friendly games played in Abuja before the handlers handed him a chance to represent the country proper.

The attacker has however not slowed down with his performance as his latest goal only just proves that the handlers were right to have handed him a place in the final 28-man squad.

It is reported that Head Coach Bosso sees the player as a game-changer and would use him to unlock opponents’ defense as he bids to better his performance at the tournament following his first round exit two years ago.

The Flying Eagles are in Group B alongside defending Champions Ghana and Burkina Faso and would open their campaign against the Black Satellites on Sunday.

In a 360 degree turn, the club owners who had earlier voted, in a virtual meeting with the league board for the super six and relegation play offs have rejected the decision and rather want the league to continue with match day 14 games.

This stems from the virtual meeting held by the club owners and managers on Friday, running through Saturday afternoon.

In the communique released by the club owners after the meeting, they want the season to continue with with the initial straight format and resume with Matchday 14 matches instead of going ahead with the Super Six and Survival Play-Offs.

They also proposed finalists at the last NWFL season should represent Nigeria in the CAF Women’s Champions League zonal qualifiers, thus putting to rest the need to end the abruptly.

According to the club owners, since the league didn’t end due to the need to meet up with next season’s continental commitment, it was logical to hand the tickets to those who reached the final of the last NWFL women’s play off in 2019.

It will be recalled that Rivers Angels pipped Confluence Queens 1-0 at the 2019 playoffs final in Lagos.

The owners also elected to have no relegation of teams, rather proposed for the restoration of the league to its original 16-team format of which two promoted teams will complete the number if no teams are relegated.

This is due to the fact that Heartland Queens and Adamawa Queens were expelled by the NWFL due to non compliance with club licensing.

According to feelers from the meeting, only three clubs disagreed with decision of the Club Owners.

The NWFL Super Six is scheduled to hold in Ijebu Ode starting from the 19th of April, 2021 of which the winner will be crowned the league champions and qualify automatically for the CAF Women’s Champions League while the runner up will proceed to the WAFU Zonal qualifiers scheduled for May.

Bayelsa Queens, Delta Queens, Rivers Angels, Edo Queens, FC Robo Queens and Sunshine Queens have qualified for the Super Six.

The final squad has three goalkeepers, six defenders, nine midfielders and six attackers.

Amoo will rely on qualities possessed by some of his players, notably among them is goalkeeper Saheed Jimoh, Victor Udoh and a product of Kamar Football Academy in Idah, Mustapha Benjamin.

The tournament kicks off on January 5 in Lome, Togo.

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets are drawn against Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in Group B.

The finalists of the qualifying with advance to the U17 AFCON in Morocco in July.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Saheed Jimoh, Destiny Emuwahen, Abdulbasit Abbas

Defenders: Abdullahi Bewene, Victor Udoh, Emmanuel Chukwu, Joseph Kuteyi, Vince Osuji, Emmanuel John, Oludapo Akintola

Midfielders: Oluwatomiwa Kolawole, Chukwuemeka Egbu, Samuel Akere, Haruna Hassan, Rabiu Ahmed, Gideon Atoyebi, Benjamin Mustapha, Basheet Hamzat, Samson Ogunmola

Forwards: Joseph Arumala, Christian Nwachukwu, Peter Asuquo, Michael Emmanuel, Stanley Iheanacho, Ahmed Abdullahi

STANDBY: Philip Titiloye, Muhammed Usman, Waris Hundeyin, Joel david, Boluwatife Babarinde

The former Gombe United manager confirmed this to the media after the game against Ghana U20 team.

“Quadri has always been a joker, he has always come in the second half and change the game for us.

“In the game like this we have very less number in the bench and we can only use what we have at the moment.

The 36 Lion FC winger changed the game when the Flying Eagles played Ivory Coast U20 team and also did the same against the Ghana today, but it was late before the coach introduced him into the game, which his magic couldn’t change the scoreline because of limited time.

Bosso, while fielding questions from newsmen after the game acknowledged that the team had received the best of support from the ministry of sport through NFF and despite their level of preparation, his boys failure to convert their chances has cost them the defeat.

“We had good chances that could have been used to finish the game in the first half but we couldn’t do that. They had only one chance and got it – we had three of those free kicks and we couldn’t let it in”, he lamented.

Noting that his lads performance bettered that of the last game, he insisted that; “it was unfortunate this time around we were very wasteful.

He pointed out that another influence which affected the outcome of the game was the  unavailability of some players.

“Two of our players were partially affected with Covid-19 and now in isolation, with another one not fit for the match, we only have to use the ones we have on ground.

“We had good chances that could have been used to finish the game in the first half but we couldn’t do that. They had only one chance and got it – we had three of those free kicks and we couldn’t let it in” he lamented.

The former FC IfeanyiUbah gaffer who played down interference in players selection for the team said all the players had come through a meritorious process. He hopes Nigerian will be fair to them in assessment as he tagged them a ‘future team’

Flying Eagles had played a 1-1 draw against Cote d’ivore in their first game and might now have to wait as the result of the next match between Ghana and the latter will determine their fate of advancing to the next stage.

Speaking from the team’s camp in Porto Novo, the Akwa Ibom State born defender lamented his side’s inability to hold on to their lead in the opening game against Cote d’Ivoire, adding that they will do all within their power to ensure victory against the Starlets, hence Nigerians should not lose faith in the team.

“I’m confident of our chances against the Ghanaian U-20 team, on Wednesday; we’re surely going to carry the day, said Moses, who got 90 minutes of action against the Baby Elephants.

“I’m not happy with the draw we played against Cote d’Ivoire, but I want our fans back in Nigeria to believe in the team.

“We’re focused and good to go; our aim is to make our country proud.

The team is on a quest for qualification to the Total U20 African Cup of Nations in Tanzania, where qualifiers from other zones in the continent would converge for limited slots to the 2021 World Youth Championship in Indonesia, and the left back insists the country’s qualification for the World Cup is not negotiable.

“Our task is to qualify from here first, and then we move on to the next stage of qualification, he said.

“But our overall mission is to qualify for the World Cup proper, and we’re definitely going to give it our best shot,” concluded Moses.

The Flying Eagles will play Black Satellites at Stade de Gaules on Wednesday 9 December 2020 with kick-off at 4:00pm.