U-17 AFCON: Nigeria In Winning Start, Pip Zambia 1 – 0
TWO-TIME African Champion, the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria started their campaign at the 2023 African U-17 Championship in Algeria on a winning note.
A 76th-minute close-range strike by Favour Daniel gave Nigeria a winning start at the expense of Junior Chipolopolo of Zambia on Sunday.
Light Eke could have doubled the West African side’s lead but his weak spot kick was saved by Zambia goalkeeper Shadreck Kalyati in the 90th minute.
Meanwhile, Defender Serigne Fallou Diouf volleyed home 12 minutes to time as Senegal won their opening game at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria 2023 with a 1-0 victory over Congo.
This is the first time in three attempts that Senegal are winning their opening game of the tournament and moves second in Group A with three points, the same as leaders Algeria who won 2-0 against Somalia on Saturday.
While the defender scored the winner, the goalkeeper, who goes by the same name Serigne Diouf, made an equally important contribution to the game, saving a first-half penalty.
The keeper saved Alexandre Boukoulou’s 22nd-minute penalty, making amends after he had needlessly brought down Ayel Wumba Niati under no pressure as he chased to shield the ball to go out of play.
Senegal had been faster off the blocks with most of the pressure in the final third. They almost equalized in the 27th minute when Yaya Dieme picked the ball on the back post and took a shot, but the keeper made a great save.
In the second half, the Senegalese continued pressing for the opener and they came close in the 68th minute but skipper Amara Diouf saw his looping header come off the bar.
Their efforts finally bore fruit 12 minutes to time when Fallou Diouf volleyed the ball home from inside the box after substitute Papa Alioune Ndiaye had done well to win the ball ahead of the keeper.
Congo put in some effort to rally back and at least claw off a point, but Senegal’s Teranga Cubs held on for the win that propels their confidence.
Their second game will be next Tuesday against hosts Algeria, a game that will have a huge implication on who qualifies for the quarter-finals.
In a related development, Somali’s head coach Nur Mohamed Amin has rued mistakes that led to their defeat in their opening game at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), going down 2-0 to hosts Algeria at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on Saturday night.
Goals in either half from skipper Moslem Anatouf saw Algeria condemn the debutants to defeat in their first-ever match in continental football.
“We wanted to win the opening match against Algeria but football is a sport with three results; a win, loss or a draw. Algeria won and that is football,” the tactician said.
“We saw some mistakes that we will try to correct in the next game and try to win. Our ambition is to go for victory in the next assignment,” further opined the tactician after the game.
Nur also said the fact that his players did not have a long period to train together played a role in their defeat, but says they are gathering synergy as the days progress.
“All our players are students and we selected them from school tournaments. They did not have the chance to play a lot of friendly matches and we were just together for three months for preparation,” the tactician noted.
Somalia’s next game will be against Congo next Tuesday and another defeat will be a blow to their hopes of making the last eight.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
