Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Wednesday suffered a slim 1-0 loss in their opening game against Cote d’ Ivoire in the first match of Group B of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B Tournament holding in Lome, Togo.
The Five-time world champions tutored by Coach Fatai Amoo were held to a barren draw in the first 45 minutes of the game but the Ivoriens came out stronger attacking on all fronts and forcing Nigeria’s defence to collapse in the 76th minute of play when Konaté Abdramane fired in the winner.
The Eaglets went into the clash hoping to change the fortunes of Nigerian football following a below-par performance from the Super Eagles and Flying Eagles last year.
However, they got off to a worse possible start as Ivory Coast dominated the clash all through to secure a deserved 1-0 victory.
The Elephants started on the front foot and they almost took the lead in the 31st minute but were denied by Destiny Emuwahem in Nigeria’s goal.
Nigeria’s first real opportunity came in the 37th minute but Joseph Arumala’s low cross into Ivory Coast box could not find any of his teammates.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets now face an uphill task to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition. Fatai Amoo’s men will need to beat arch-rivals Ghana in their final group game to stand a chance of making it to the next stage.