Nigeria’s Flying Eagles suffered a 2–0 defeat to Burkina Faso in their final Group B fixture of the WAFU B U‑20 AFCON qualifiers at the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro.
Despite the loss, Softfootball gathered Nigeria have done enough to progress to the knockout stage and will now face Ivory Coast in the semi‑finals, with a place at the U20 Africa Cup of Nations at stake.
Burkina Faso started strongly and broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute. A dangerous corner kick was delivered into the Nigerian box, allowing a Burkina Faso player to rise above the defence and head the ball into the net.
The West African side extended their lead 13 minutes later with a spectacular free‑kick from around 30 yards. The effort sailed beyond the Flying Eagles goalkeeper and found the back of the net to put Burkina Faso firmly in control.
Nigeria went into the interval two goals down and returned for the second half determined to find a way back into the contest.
The Flying Eagles pushed forward and committed more players to the attack, but they struggled to create meaningful chances against a well‑organised Burkina Faso defence.
Despite their efforts, Nigeria could not find a breakthrough as Burkina Faso maintained their defensive discipline to see out the victory.
The Flying Eagles will now shift their focus to the semi‑finals, where they will meet Ivory Coast. Victory in that encounter will guarantee Nigeria qualification for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
