Guinea claimed a dramatic 10-9 penalty shoot-out win against the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria in the first semi-final match of the 2019 Africa U-17 Africa Cup of Nations at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, reports Completesports.com.
Both teams battled to a 0-0 during regulation time and penalty shoot-out was needed to determine the winner.
Ogaga Oduko missed the Eaglets’ 10th kick and ended Nigeria’s hopes of winning a third African title.
Guinea started on the strong foot and dominated the opening exchanges but failed to break the Nigerian defence who stood firm in the face relentless pressure from their opponent.
Algassime Bah and Aboubacar Conte came close to opening scored for the Guineans in the 22nd and 26th minutes respectively.
The lively Wisdom Ubani was a tough customer for the Guinean defence and his well struck free-kick in the 33rd minute sailed inches wide.
The Golden Eaglets stepped up their game in the second half with Olakunle Olusegun who replaced Akinwunmi Amoo before the break proving a handful for the Guineans.
Ubani wasted a number of good scoring opportunities which cost his side at the end of the day.
Fawaz Abdullahi had an effort cleared off the line deep into stoppage time.
The game went into penalty with Guinea prevailing having converted all 10 kicks, while Nigeria scored nine.
The Golden Eaglets will now fight to end the competition on a positive note when they play the third place match on Saturday.
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
They were never unlucky the Guinians merit their victory i watched the match live,they created much chances and played a good football,
These kids will not go far in Brazil. They play football with their eyes closed. They run like chicken whose head is cut off. Fu** them. The NFF should not invest so much on them. They are hopeless.
Let them go back to their various villages. Could not even beat common Guinea, talk of going to Brazil to bring the World cup back to Nigeria. For where?
No body will want them now. The scouts will turn to the Guinean strong boys. they are done.
Edoman, please remember these are kids and we won’t want to demoralize them at this very young age. As a parent I wont want people calling my kid useless or a loser knowing fully well that if we count how many people on this forum has done things to improve the image of 9ja globally it wont be alot. These young eaglets are heroes to me same with the U20. Recall that Amuneke’s team crashed out in d semis but still went on to rule the world. Recall that that team was not as tactical or technical as this team. Recall also that only 2 players scored for 9ja in dat tournament (Nwakali and Osihmem. a couple were even penalties if my memory serves me correctly). I believe this team is destined for greatness with only a few additions to strengthen it. I hold d same believe with d U20 too, other than their age (too old) the team dominated all d teams they played against, SA packed d bus twice we played them. In d semi final we dominated Mali but for penalties. As someone else said we should use this as lesson learnt and practice penalties as well as set pieces. Note that though penalties can be practiced but if a goalie guesses correctly he/she can still catch d best penalty takers. Messi, Ronaldo, baggio, neymar have all missed penalties. So in conclusion let’s encourage these boys and keep cheering them on as they are our own and they have contributed their little quota in improving 9ja image. Nobody who has really watched these boys play can say these boys aren’t good. I will be bold to say that these boys are d best manu garba could pick. Don’t get me wrong there might be better players out there but maybe finances made it difficult for them to travel to camp and deep in form/quality could have necessitated some good players been dropped and don’t 4get d MRI disqualified some good players.
Proudly 9ja
I suggest that this is the time Nigeria Coaches should begin to pay greater attention on penalties because it has caused us us two attempt at winning trophies this year alone and even winning any silver wear.. The first is the Flying Eagles against Mali in the semi-final at 2019 AFCON U20 in Niger Republic and the second one is the third place match against South-Africa which we lost through penalties. The third is this one that has occurred today against Guinea U17 at AFCON U17 ongoing in Tanzania. Let our coaches know that this has shown us we are having problems with this system introduced to determine winner and let them fashion out ways of getting out of this logjam. If the third place match also goes into penalties it means there is little hope. Also let the coach find lasting solution to their scoring abilities. Most of the games will have ended at the regulation time and I don’t know why he refuse to use Adrian Akande the Chelsea player.
Aba edoman thats too arsh now, the guys are not that bad . I think they missed the no 13 amoo. Also the coach did ero by bringing jabaar no 19 to the right wing instead of left side where he is very potential. In all i will agree that the gunians met business and my guys where unlucky in the second half they deserve to win the game in the second half and the ref didnt help the situation . All they need to do in brazile is to be more precise and decisive in front of goal. I like the team mentality as well. Un Naija
This boys will win world cup. They are technically sound
Unlucky? Sorry, the Eaglets were dominated by the Guineans who must have had an average age of 25. The body language of Oduko as he walked up to take that penalty showed he was already a loser. Our coaches must explain why money was spent on bringing down players from England that they then left on the bench throughout the competition. I think Garba may be bigger than the NFF. An obstinate and tactless coach should be shown the exit door
The good thing is that they’ve qualified for the WorldCup. The Guineans truly looks older than 20, but I have no proof and I believe they must’ve gone through the MRI process like every other teams. Nigeria is already the best in the world at U17 level therefore I have no ceiling for the GoldenEaglets. My main concern is unearthing talents for future purpose.
I am baffled how people are reacting to this loss, it’s just incredible. The aim is to identify potentials for our senior teams in the future. Edoman even going ahead to curse them – unbelievable. We have won the U17 World Cup 5(FIVE) times but yet we couldn’t make second round in the competition that matters at senior level. As they have qualified for the World Cup i am very satisfied and could careless if they win it. I am more interested in where these players would end up and my hope is that they get further football education with big clubs that would benefit us when it matters. These boys have huge potential because they are truly young. I live in the the UK but ask any one English person who is World Champion at U17 level they wouldn’t have a clue even though they (England) are the current defending champions but ask the same people who are the world champions every one would answer France. We should get our priority straight and look at the bigger future. The plan should be to churn out quality young players on a regular basis. Aah beg lets keep supporting these kids. As Proudly9ja pointed out our 2015 World Cup winners lost at this stage and the 2013 team of Success, Iheanacho lost to Ivory Coast in the final. Eveybody should just CHILL!!!
I suggest Manu should scout players from the south south and east respectively.
This team notwithstanding is talented.In the past we have struggled in Africa only to excel globally,I hope that is the case this time as well.
Rightly,Manu has five months to scout for potent attackers to compliment Amoo and Ubani in the world cup.
Meanwhile,Manu should start both English based players in the 3rd place to cap tie them otherwise we may regret it because they may turn out to be great players for England in the future.
Apparently,the 3rd place match is inconsequential someone from the Nff should sound it out to Manu.Hopefully, we can use that platform to secure them for the future.
May God lead the eaglets as potential champions where it matters most.
May i know your reasons for south-south and south-East suggestion ?
Sometimes the screening location may be too distance for certain players who themselves are impoverished but very talented.
Coaches like Amuneke after the playoffs in Africa where his team finished a disappointing fourth has to travel far and wide to scout for talents to beef up his team and eventually we saw the results.
I’m not being tribalised I’m from Imo state.But the truth is a Nigerian team lacking Igbos deltas and Edo players struggles.If we must be honest majority of our best players come from this region.
However,I didn’t mean Garba is a tribalist or his selections is based on religion or nepotism like I said earlier the screening or camp base may have caused certain players who cannot afford the fares to travel and participate in the screening exercise.
However,he has achieved by qualifying and I believe he can excel at the global stage but must relocate the camping site and exhaust every corners of the country to get the best players to be victorious in Brazil
Winning a world cup is not done with kids gloves.He has to work his ass off to achieve this.
In addition every victorious Nigerian teams both male and female in every category has majority of players from south south/east regions.Players from that region have a big heart.And any Nigerian team with players less from the above mentioned region struggles.It does sound bitter but it’s the truth.
I concur with u bro, it’s very unfortunate.
Good analysis !!!
Mr Greenturf or whatever you call yourself, you are sectional and your comment about scouting for players from south-south or east have ethnicity and racial undertone. Any talented players can come from any part of Nigeria. Nigeria in ONE entity and belongs to all Nigerians regardless of where they come from. The Nigeria U-17 teams that did not qualified for the last TWO editions comprised of players from the east and south-south, yet nobody castigated them. Go back and check their names! The failure of one is failure of all. People like you don’t believe in ONE Nigeria and that is why you always read tribalism into every issue in Nigeria. Please stop your selfishness, go and renew your racial mindedness, support whoever represents nigeria. These boys you are castigating are Nigerians and can still go ahead to win the world cup.
Hey crusader,people like you jump so quick to judgement how do you know I’m a tribalist? and the way you write suggests a very rude bitter person.You lack class.
At least there are better ways to make your points without making a nuisance of yourself on here.
If you go through my posts properly there’s nothing to suggest I’m a tribalist I have been on this forum a long time and you are the first to come here to spite such vile against me.
I made my points about location of the camp site which sometimes can be a geographical disadvantage to people from certain region and that’s true.And my point of south south/east producing more talents in sports is a fact and most of our good teams have players from that region you can verify I’m never known to be a tribalist.I never said players from the south south/east must be included in the roaster rather should be scouted to compete with others and let the best go to Brazil for the world cup.
This is typical of Manu Garba’s trained boys initially, PROFLIGACY has always been a common recurrence, later on they will pick up.Its a blessingshame in disguise.
Am highly surprised at some comments on this issue. There was nothing fantastic about the guineans. They were just physical in there play. We created more chances and if we had taken advantage of our miscues, we would be singing praises of this boys. Am not scared because i see potentials in this boys. The coaches needs to correct the mistakes made at this tournament. The substitution of Amoo made the attack relax. Guys thr previous sets of under 17 lost in the semis and went on to win the cup. I see this lad doing the same.
I did not see the game, but based on comments, it appears the boys acquitted themselves well. Plus, they qualified for the world cup, which was the main objective! So why curse and swear at boys young enough to be your kids? Very ungentlemanly, I must say. People from all over the world come to this site to read the comments of Nigerian fans. Let’s stop disgracing and embarrassing ourselves and our country Nigeria with thoughtless comments!
I’m proud of this team because they tried their best. I’m pretty sure the coach will strengthen the team before the world cup.
This is a new team and they played their lives in this tournament but they were not destined to win the tournament.
I’m really happy for the team because they have qualified for the world cup and anything after that is a bonus. God bless Nigeria!!!
“…but they were not destined to win the tournament….”
So you now know that destiny too always plays a part abi…??? Lolz
Why is it that anytime we have a nigerian coach majority of the players will come from his side of the country, the captain must be his tribesman?
As long as you win the trophy with 11 players from your family, it matters not, but if you louse then we need to question your judgement, patrotism and even sanity.
Good job.
Make sure every player who has not played at all gets a chance to play the third place match.
They should start the last match pls.
Dnt understand your ooooo…. Manu garba(coach) is from a different tribe… Tijani(captain)is also from a diff tribe. ..
Kudos to the coaching crew and everyone that ensured the final selection list for this U17 (I salute the kids’ effort notwithstanding). Do as you wish, the end will tell???
Meanwhile, talking about future stars for the super eagles, how many of our past U17 heroes has the NFF and the national coaches followed up, guided, motivated and given adequate opportunity to play at the national super eagles of today? (Imagine world champions like Osimhen, Alampasu, Nwakalis, Chukwueze, Sunday Mba, etc relegated to second fiddles in the super eagles today), Some will tell them to wait for their time even when they can obviously perform better than the old boys (“experienced”) if given equal opportunity.
For those waiting for the world cup “magic”, go check the coordinates of Nigeria past world U17 champion kids and then compare with this present U17 pool.
No matter how much you inhibit it, “a Gold remains Gold”. “No one can stop the sun from shining except God Almighty”
A word is enough for the Wise.
God bless Nigeria!
No one said nothing. The team was extremely bad. The boys lacked technical prowess, they devoid of ball sense. How can Manu tribalised the team or rolled in religious & nepotism as a yardstick for his selection. Check passed winners you will see that it comprises of south south & south east. Those guys from that region think, eat, play soccer with passion to win intelligently,unlike these aboki & afonjas. Please think about it.
My broda Kola, no 2 vex for these boys, they tried, most people coming into this tournament were scared of the Senegalese team (mind u they beat d eaglets in d invitational tournament in Turkey by 3:nil) but where are they now? back in Senegal and come Brazil they will be watching from d comfort of dia couches. My broda, u mentioned to check the past winners but u 4get that in Africa 9ja has only won it twice if am not mistaken. I don’t wanna blif tribalism played a role but again I could be wrong. Note that there might be very good players from d region u mentioned but they might not fit d coach’s plan or may not grab the opportunity afforded them with both hands. I have not really seen dat omidiji play but looking at ubani, olusegun, amoo, jabbar, it would take something special to displace these guys. Olusegun may not have played to his full potential this tournament but watch out in Brazil where they will be playing on really good pitches u guys will see serious leather by dis boys I can guarantee it.
proudly 9ja
Bro kola Pls b calm nd hope u haven’t forgotten dat d team(victor oshimen set) dat went ahead to lift d world Cup trophy Neva lifted d African youth championship… So Dem noe lift Dis one or Dem no play too well ain’t a factor dat Dem no go do well for Brazil…nd I fink Kudos to the NFF cos Dis boys r actually our youngest ever u17 squad cos I noe most of dos boys… Also, Neva put aside d fact dat dos Guineans wer old.. M certain most of Dem wnt make it to d world Cup cos dey will be restrictly screened..
It is highly disheartening to read some ridiculous comments on this forum. Must some people reactions on everything nigeria be connected to ethnicity/tribes.
I think history studies need to be brought back into school curticulum because my history tells me that all tribes in Nigeria have conyributed to Soccer achievemwbt in Nigeria.
The u-20 team that lost at the same stage and even lost to S.Africa is filled with certain region and you don’t see anyone castigating them or demanding for the inclusion of other regions.
Take it or leave it, this youths (U-17) are great ambassadors and future of our national team. Everyone is entitled to his oinion but it is really unfair to be myooic and hypocritical with this topic.
my question for manu garba is, why keep the chelsea kid on bench all through also the Bournemouth goal keeper too , second the same boys kept missing loads of chances from the first match now , why not try other ones because it showed the has not put in much work on them in training jabaar and ubani are good but seriously need to learn how to convert chances that come there way .
creating so many chances don’t win matches but scoring them does
if they had converted the plethora of chances that came their way in the second there won’t be need for the penalty .
for me i think Omidiji was droped based on size not quality since his a striker and this is an african tournament he would bullied too much by defenders my thought though .
but no matter what Manu should use those foreign players in our next match please because we would need their technicalities at the world cup proper
GOD bless the good people of this forum and GOD bless NIGERIA .
Most teams coached by Manu Garba struggle against teams with robust style of play. Remember the 2013 set. They lost in the final against CIV. But that CIV team went out in the first round at the U-17 WC. Another major reason the 2017 set couldn’t make it too against Niger. Isn’t it funny that Nigeria has won the African cup 2 times, while we have pocketed the WC 5 times? Trust me, this team will do well at the world cup. It’s a technically gifted team and we have few physical teams to deal with at the WC. Congratulations to Guinea and Cameroon. But I’m sorry; they are only good for African title. When they face technically sound teams, they will surely fall by the way side. Because there are so many heavy contacts that were overlooked in their favour in the competition and they both look overaged too. I see many of these boys securing good clubs abroad after the WC. Manu should pay attention to their conversion rate. It’s too poor compared to the chances they create.
PapaFem, thank you. This is one of the most reasonable posts here. The improvement of conversion rate, as you rightly pointed out, is what we should highlighting not castigating the coach and players, who have huge potential.
I think south south and south east or North North or North East or west West or west East. The most important is the team needs 5 more talents to join up and fire go burn for world cup. Gunians are not better they are physically stronger agreed and they where fighting our talented youths my God I love our defenders and number 19 also tijani no 4. No 9 ubani he reminds me of cameroun mboma that guy will become nigeria best after rashidi just mark these guy and trust my comments on him
Manu n Co have done well n should be commended even though I personally would have wished to have Lateef Omidji in this squad. That boy loves Nigeria so much n should have been encouraged by getting him in d squad. Anyway we hv got the 3rd place match, very inconsequential as far as I m concerned. Priority for that match should be, get all d players that haven’t had game time to play fully, so they can be assessed n also for fans to see how good they are. And also to secure those two English based players for Nigeria. The coaches must have to be wise cos England is watching.
So are you saying a better player should be dropped for Lateef Omitiji just to encourage him?that sounds ridiculous I don’t mean to be offensive.
Not saying that but only trying to get us to appreciate our kids especially when those that have choices BTW 2 countries then decide to choose Nigeria. We should always endeavour to use kind words for these kids. That will help not to demoralise them even when they happen not to make final selection.
The best we can do is to give them opportunities to try out with the rest in camp,so it’s down to them to prove they are good enough to be in the team otherwise they will be dropped,there’s no sentiments for a progressive team.
Having said that,I do appreciate his willingness to play for Nigeria but was disappointed to read about his anger and change of decision from honouring future games for Nigeria just because he was dropped from the team to Tanzania.
I’m quite surprised at how people have come out to spit venom over a tournament for small children. Its like some people are so frustrated and will look for any opportunity to vent their anger albeit irresponsibly. For crying out loud…the main objective of U17 football is to unearth talents…and after that give them the necessary exposure both locally and internationally to match up with their age mates around the world and sharpen their competitive edge in preparation for a career that may lead them to any part of the globe. That is why the focus as this level is the technical side of the players development rather than the tactical side. Its at u20 level that real soccer tactics, game planning, management and execution is usually gradually introduced and/or taught to the developing youngsters. U17 football is raw talents…teach the kids too much tactics and they become confused. That is why the key to success at u17 level is the size of the raw talent pool any country can muster at any point in time.
This is the first time I’m commenting on any news about this U17 AFCON because for me they are just kids expressing themselves. I have busied myself with just enjoying the innate talents that this boys have displayed to us. We have achieved he first objective which is unearthing raw talent. In this team (at least based on my assessment), we have seen a little-messi, a freekick taker, a very sound fullback as well as a deeplying playmaker….all players if well nurtured will come good for the SE within the next 4 years…just like the 2013 and 2015 u17s are already forming the bulk of our SE today (and the results are there for all including critics to see). The second objective has also been achieved….exposure to international tournaments. The team has qualified for the world cup which for me is even more important than anything else, because it gives these talented children an opportunity to encounter and experience another side to the game of soccer at the global stage, because variety as they say is the spice of life. Experience cannot be bought is the market.
When will we understand that winning youth trophies and medals shouldn’t be a priority…? How does it aggregate to improving FIFA rankings..? How does it improve the ratings of the Senior national team…? how does it improve the market value of Nigeria players in the global transfer market…? Winning should just be an icing on the cake. The fact that we have won U17 Afcon just twice (the first coming after we had won the world cup 2ce) and the WC 5 times is enough glory for us at this level. We should shift our emphasis onto the quality of teams and players we churn out at these levels rather than what we win or didnt win. The 2007 set won both AFCON and WC but none of them, I mean NONE (apart from Haruna Lukman) ended up in the national team….even lukman didnt earn up to 10 caps for the SE….that was a wasted generation if you ask me. For 3 consecutive times now our teams have lost penalty shootouts….that should be for worry for the Technical department of the NFF, especially ahead of the main AFCON. Our falcons wobbled and fumbled to the AWCON on the back of successive penalty shootouts…so that means we need to start looking closely at that aspect of the game. Just like fifa uses U17 and U20 WCs as test pieces for the main would cup. We too should start using them to test the podium for the senior national team rather than pour insults on innocent hardworking kids.
The ease with which some fans pour down hurricanes of insults on our national teams is really baffling. Any U20 or U17 that manages to qulify for their WCs and unearths at least 6-8 really exceptional talents has achieved its objectives. With the hindsight that a large chunk of the team Manu started with has been decimated by MRI scans, even as close as 2 weeks to the beginning of this tourney, I think he deserves a pat on the back, rather than all these disgusting allegations i’m reading here….they smirk off illiteracy IMHO.
I should call you Prof. Drey. Well said. You made valid points here. The boys gave their best even at this level of football. The fighting spirit was second to none. Mind you, penalties could go any way.
The coach should just work on the attack( i.e a good goalscorer) and the goalkeeping keeping department and this team will go far at the world cup in Brazil.
Thumbs up to them
Bros thank you, i have tried to explain this here oo. Nawa ooo.
If NFF or Manu invited European based players, they should be used as well. This same thing has happened in the past where players were invited but not used. These same players grow up to be great for other countries. Though this age group tournament cannot be used to tie any player to a country except at senor level. Any aspiring good
willing to lace boot for Naija should be given 3 to 5 minutes of play to tie such down in the senior level. This is because such player may turn out to be great tomorrow to our advantage.
Non-clinical, Wasteful Eaglets! More often, the attacking mid-fielders show-boating and sselfish wit the ball!!
@greenturf, you are wrong, Yemi tells won 2007 under17 World Cup with majority of those boys from south west.u guys need to stop this nonsense, u guys might need to go back to history books and learn something about Nigeria soccer.Anyway The Guinea national team might still be disqualify for age cheats.
That team that was full of over aged players only Lukman Haruna won about 8 caps for Nigeria the rest just faded into oblivion men wearing diapers! our best under 17s were 1985,87,89,93,2003,2009,2013 and 2015 sets this were productive teams.The 2013 and 15 were the youngest and also the current ones due to the introduction of MRI scan.
Why would Yemi Tella picked more players from S/W if you don’t mind me asking?Onigbinde took old obsolete unproductive Mutiu to 2002 world cup and Opabunmi that’s very strange
Oops!pick
Some people are unreasonable here. Overaged players. These people talking of Overaged players are far behind technology. That thing called MRI is wonderful. You can’t cheat. You can not guess a person’s age by his appearance. I am from the Urhobo tribe and generally juniors greet seniors “migwo.” Many people will greet my far juniors “migwo” but they will greet me as equal or their junior. They are judging by looks. MRI has confirmed that those boys are within the age bracket. If a Nigeria is castigating our representatives, the offence I’d treasonable felony. That person is against the country. So Edoman and his likes should take note. Abusive language is not for humans but animals. You are not animal I guess.
Please be civil when making comments in a public domain like this #DjCh#. Why call some people “unreasonable” just because they mentioned that some U17 players were overaged? You claimed they were “far behind technology”? Who told you #DjCh, that the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology doesn’t make mistake? Do you know there is something called human and mechanical error? Do you also know there is what is called significance level (α = 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% or even more)? Note that no technology or system or government or human being is perfect except GOD ALMIGHTY.
Or are you insinuating that the NFF are also “unreasonable” for making the following petition against Guinea over their overage players (even after your “ impeccable MRI tech” #DjCh), Read below;
NFF Demand Disqualification Of Guinea For Age Fraud, CAF Must Decide Within 24, Published: April 26, 2019. The Nigeria Football Federation filed a complaint to the Confederation of African Football on Friday over two non-eligible players named in Guinea’s starting lineup in their 10-9 victory on penalties against Nigeria in the U17 Africa Cup of Nations on April 24. The Nigerian Federation informed CAF that Aboubacar Conté and Ahmed Tidiane Keïta wearing the number 11 and 15 jersey respectively played in the tournament with different passports (born in 2002) from those they used in another tournament in Japan two years ago (born in 2001). The Japan Football Association have provided additional documents to CAF which back the claims of the Nigerian Federation that the Guineans fielded two players above the age limit. The Nigerian Federation have asked CAF to disqualify Guinea while the Golden Eaglets play Cameroon in Sunday’s showpiece and CAF’s Disciplinary Committee must decide within 24 hours. In the meantime, the Golden Eaglets continued their preparations for their final game in Tanzania, with another training session held today.
SEE ANOTHER EVIDENCE;
According to a research published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Br J Sports Med. 2007 Aug;41(8):497-500. Epub 2007 Mar 8. Doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2006.033431), titled: Application of MRI of the wrist for age determination in international U-17 soccer competitions.
CONCLUSION:
From the MRI results, U-17 soccer players seem to be more mature than a normative population of the same age category. However, the lack of correlation between age category and degree of fusion in U-17 players supports the suspicion that the age stated in the official documents of the U-17 players examined might not be correct in all cases. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17347314)
You don’t insult people #DjCh# recklessly just to make a point, do you know that some people carry special Anointed? Please lets be civil and criticize constructively bcos nobody knows it all.
God bless Nigeria!
DjCH, are you implying that you look much younger than your age? Fine boy, no pimples 🙂
Just joking my brother. Cheers!
*Anointing*