Olympic Eagles,Tanzania Settle For Draw In Qualifier Ahead U-23 AFCON

Nigeria’s U-23 national team’s quest for a place in the football event of the 2024 Olympics began Saturday evening with a 1-1 draw against Tanzania in the first leg, second round tie of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

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Captain Success Makanjuola netted for Nigeria in the 29th minute, after Qudus Akanni was fouled in the hosts’ vital area, and the 1996 champions thereafter created a number of chances that with a little more precision, would have put the match to bed by half time.

The home team piled on the pressure in the second period at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, and hit the crossbar on two occasions before Djiboutian referee Souleiman Ahmed Djama awarded them a penalty that was brilliantly converted in the 74th minute.

The Olympic Eagles fought tenaciously to earn a winner, with their minds on the $20,000 pledge for victory by the Chairman of NFF’s task force for youth competitions, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, but it was not to be. However, the boys return to the country on Sunday with their heads held high and determined to finish off the task with success when they host the Tanzanians at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan on Saturday next week.

The second leg of the qualifying fixtures will hold at the Adegbesimgba stadium, Ibadan on Saturday, October 29.

The winner over two legs fixtures will qualify for the group stages of the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.