U-17 AFCON (Q): Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets bash Benin

The Nigeria U-17 national team hammered their counterparts from Benin by a 4-1 score to begin their qualifying campaign for the U-17 Africa Cup Of Nations (U-17 AFCON) on Wednesday at the Stade du Lycée Scientifique in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

George Agha scored a first-half hat-trick while captain David Edeh added a goal to seal the deal for the Golden Eaglets before he had to go off due to injury in their opening match from Group B in the WAFU-Zone B region of qualifying.

Agha put coach Manu Garba’s ahead from the penalty spot after only four minutes, following a foul on winger Boluwatife Thompson. Two minutes later, Edeh’s free-kick doubled the lead after Thompson was fouled again.

In a Man of the Match performance, Agha finished off a fine team effort for his second before completing his hat-trick in the 31st minute by capitalizing on a defensive mistake.

Before the half-time break, Benin looked to have come back into the fight through captain Jeremy Zannou’s goal. However, there was no comeback. Nigeria stayed in control after the break with coach Garba making changes to rest key players ahead of Saturday’s Group B decider against Burkina Faso.

The win guarantees Nigeria a top-2 position in the group and a place in the semifinals and keeps their hopes alive of qualifying for next year’s U17 AFCON. The semifinal winners will represent the WAFU-Zone B region at the U-17 AFCON finals hosted by Morocco next year.