Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have left the WAFU-B Under-17 Championship at the group stage after drawing 1–1 with Côte d’Ivoire in Ouagadougou on Saturday, October 17. The Nigeria Football Federation confirms the exit in its match report. A late goal prevented a second defeat, but Nigeria needed a victory to remain in the regional tournament.
The pressure on the final group fixture came from the opening game. Nigeria had lost 2–1 to Niger Republic on Wednesday, October 14. That left head coach Eboboritse Uwejamomere’s side trying to recover in a short group campaign, with little room to turn another draw into progress.
An equaliser, but not the win Nigeria needed
Côte d’Ivoire took the lead through Alex Fousseni in the 16th minute. The NFF describes the goal as the product of a counterattack. Its account says Nigeria then pressed repeatedly without finding the net until the closing stages. The eventual response changed the score, rather than the need for a winning goal.
Both the NFF and PUNCH credit Abiodun John with Nigeria’s equaliser, but their timings differ. The federation says it came with two minutes of regulation time remaining; PUNCH records the 84th minute. We retain that disagreement instead of manufacturing a definitive minute. Both accounts agree on the scorer, the 1–1 final score and Nigeria’s elimination.
What the result settles
PUNCH’s October 18 report places Nigeria bottom of Group B with one point from two games, behind Niger Republic on four and Côte d’Ivoire on two. Those standings explain why avoiding defeat was insufficient. The federation’s own report separately confirms that the Golden Eaglets departed at the group stage.
The competition has significance beyond a regional trophy. In its October 13 preparation report, the NFF identified WAFU-B as a qualifying tournament for the following year’s Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations. This article reports the confirmed regional exit; it does not invent a subsequent qualification route, a revised tournament format or an administrative decision outside the published match record.
Keep the team and competition distinct
The Golden Eaglets are Nigeria’s boys’ team, with a five-title history at Under-17 world level. PUNCH notes that their last World Cup appearance was in 2019. That history gives the setback weight, but it is not a result for Nigeria’s senior team or the Flamingos. The women’s separate World Cup campaign in Morocco has its own fixtures and remains covered in our existing report.
