U-17: Eaglets beat Niger, will face Ghana’s Starlets

<p>Nigeria were 2-1 winners over hosts Niger Republic on Wednesday in Niamey to book a date with Ghana and rekindle a 67-year-old Nigeria-Ghana rivalry.</p>, <p>The victory ensured the Golden Eaglets will take on the Black Starlets in Niamey on Saturday for a place in the 2019 Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations finals billed for Tanzania.</p>, <p>The Eaglets kept their heads and did the hard work they had to do by beating hosts Niger Republic 2-1 in a very competitive match at the General Seyni Kountche Stadium.</p>, <p>It was sweet revenge for the five-time world champions, as the Nigerien side had knocked out the Eaglets from the 2017 Africa Under-17 finals on a 3-2 aggregate.</p>, <p>That was when the home-and-away leg contests still held sway in the African qualifiers.</p>, <p>Following a change in the old format, countries in each of Africa’s six football regions now gather in one venue to take part in qualifying tournaments.</p>, <p>ALSO READ: AFCON 2019: Libya set Algerian crowd against Eagles</p>, <p>Only the winning teams are now eligible for the final tournament, with the region of the defending champions producing two qualifiers.</p>, <p>Akinwumi Amoo set the Eaglets on their way with a fine finish from a pullout in the 45th minute.</p>, <p>Olakunle Oluwasegun, who was later named “Man of the Match’’, made the scoreline comfortable with another magnificent strike two minutes before the hour.</p>, <p>He had scored a brace in the 2-3 defeat to Burkina Faso in their opening match and another in the 5-1 mauling of Cote d’Ivoire last week.</p>, <p>The home team pulled a goal back late on but the Nigerian boys held on to qualify for the final match against Ghana.</p>, <p>The Ghanaians had earlier defeated Cote d’Ivoire in the first semi-final match played at the same venue.</p>, <p>The finals of the 2019 Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations will hold in Tanzania.</p>, <p>ALSO READ: Lookman Ademola may pick Nigeria ahead England</p>