Nigeria's dreams of defending the African U20 Cup of Nations came to an end on Saturday, when they failed to go past 10-man Sudan at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The Flying Eagles came into the game with a 2-1 advantage, but there hopes got dashed as the Sudanese counterparts came back in the second leg to book a ticket to the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Zambia, after beating the Emmanuel Amuneke's men 4-3 on Saturday.
Both teams finished 5-5 on aggregate in the two legged affairs but the Sudanese go through on the away goal rule.
Samuel Chukwueze got the Emmanuel Amuneke's men in front after 14 minutes but the Sudanese equalized some minutes after through Ahmed.
Funsho Bamgboye shot Nigeria in front again after 26 minutes, only for the Sudanese to again draw level through Halid Abdamuleem with two minutes left in the first half.
The Sudanese would not let up and hit the third goal in the second half before the Orji Okonkwo restored parity, but just as the Flying Eagles went in search of the winner, an own goal at the other end, with seven minutes left on the clock, steered the visitors through.
NFF President Amaju Pinnick, who watched the match with 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi, said: "Certainly, this was unexpected. Our boys won the first leg away in Sudan and looked strong enough to go through."
"However, in as much as we are disappointed, this is a developmental competition and we take a lot of positives from a number of very promising players that we have seen in this team. Coach Emmanuel Amuneke and the boys gave their best, but their best proved not to be good enough today."
The Flying Eagles came into the game with a 2-1 advantage, but there hopes got dashed as the Sudanese counterparts came back in the second leg to book a ticket to the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Zambia, after beating the Emmanuel Amuneke's men 4-3 on Saturday.
Both teams finished 5-5 on aggregate in the two legged affairs but the Sudanese go through on the away goal rule.
Funsho Bamgboye shot Nigeria in front again after 26 minutes, only for the Sudanese to again draw level through Halid Abdamuleem with two minutes left in the first half.
The Sudanese would not let up and hit the third goal in the second half before the Orji Okonkwo restored parity, but just as the Flying Eagles went in search of the winner, an own goal at the other end, with seven minutes left on the clock, steered the visitors through.
NFF President Amaju Pinnick, who watched the match with 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi, said: "Certainly, this was unexpected. Our boys won the first leg away in Sudan and looked strong enough to go through."
"However, in as much as we are disappointed, this is a developmental competition and we take a lot of positives from a number of very promising players that we have seen in this team. Coach Emmanuel Amuneke and the boys gave their best, but their best proved not to be good enough today."
Unlucky Flying Eagles Lost To 10-Man Sudan; Lose Zambia Ticket
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22:57:00
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Reviewed by Unknown
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22:57:00
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