That’s it, we finally know the table of the four teams present in the semi-finals of the CAN U17. After the qualification of Mali a little earlier in the evening, it was Burkina Faso who obtained the precious sesame for the last four, following their narrow victory over the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria (1-2), this Thursday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
🇧🇫 ✈️ #U17FWC
Burkina Faso qualify for the U17 FIFA World Cup by sealing the last 2023 #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 semi-final spot ✅ pic.twitter.com/dtpWXSGyWN
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 🏆 (@CAF_Online) May 11, 2023
Dominated in the first period by an aggressive Nigeria from the start of the game, Burkina Faso relied on their last bulwark Isidore Traoré. The latter kept the boat afloat, with a lot of help sometimes: indeed, the goalkeeper could thank his crossbar which deflected a shot from afar at the entrance to the surface (8e), then his post which returned the shot from Charles Agada (16e). The Burkinabe goalkeeper was all the same more serene on a rolled up Ogbabido (34e) and on a new attempt from Agada, eccentric to the right (38e).
The Nigerians had missed their chance and the young Stallions were going to take advantage of it. In his corridor, Appolinaire Bougma caught cold Michael and Owoyemi and crossed with the outside of the foot; Aboubacar Camara took advantage of the panic in the Nigerian defense to beat Odoh with a point (0-1, 45e). A real blow to the head just before half-time.
Nigeria’s late awakening
Back from the break with a psychological ascendancy, the foals of Brahima Traoré would quickly double the lead. On the left side, Souleymane Alio provoked Ogboji and forced the latter to concede the penalty. Aboubacar Camara won his duel against Odoh and doubled the score (0-2, 57e).
The end of the match became livelier with more pressing Golden Eaglets in attack. Back to the wall, Nduka Ugbade’s men reacted and reduced the score in the following minutes. Oluwasegun Daniel infiltrated on the left side and delivered a caviar to Abubakar Abdullahi. The latter only had to push the ball into the empty net (1-2, 67e).
The score will no longer change. Burkina Faso thus snatch the last qualifying ticket for the semi-finals and the U17 World Cup, and will face the Senegal of Amara Diouf in the last four, during a confrontation which should keep all its promises.
Line-ups of Nigeria-Burkina Faso
Nigeria 🆚 Burkina Faso
Lineups revealed for the second match of the day. 📋#TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 | #NGABFA pic.twitter.com/CC6XQM7hq3
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 🏆 (@CAF_Online) May 11, 2023
