The Nigeria U17 team booked a place in the semi final of the ongoing WAFU B U17 Championship with a 3-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the semi final.
Nigeria fell behind very early into the game with Cote d’Ivoire taking the lead from the spot following a penalty awarded against the Nduka Ugbade led team for a foul in the box.
Cote d’Ivoire defended deep into their area denying the Nigerian team who had loads of possession space and time to draw level until the 23rd minute, when a freekick was awarded to Nigeria at the edge of the Ivorian box.
From what looked like an impossible angle Emmanuel Michael showed his abilities from set piece isn’t a one off as he cleverly bent the ball past the Ivorian goalkepper to draw Nigeria level.
He was on it again ten minutes later, this time around from the other side of the box. He bent it over the wall to hand the Nigerian team a 2-1 lead going into the half time break.
Abubakar Abdullahi put the game beyond the reach of the Baby Elephants with a third for Nigeria as he rose highest to meet a freekick from Ahmed Lawal to take scores to 3-1.
Nigeria will play the winner of the other semi final game between host Ghana and Burkina Faso but by making it to the final they have already sealed a spot at the U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
