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Flying Eagles head coach Abdu Maikaba has reflected on his side’s hard-fought semi-final victory over hosts Côte d’Ivoire at the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship.
The defending champions edged past the hosts 4-3 on penalties after an enthralling 2-2 draw following extra time in Wednesday’s semi-final clash.
Speaking after the game, Maikaba praised his players’ resilience and described Côte d’Ivoire as the strongest team in the competition, insisting his side deserved their place in the final.
“We played a very tough game against the host nation,” Maikaba told a press conference.
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” I will confess that we met the best team of the tournament in this game. They played so well, but we were determined to get the win no matter the way, and we are glad that we got it in the end.
Maikaba also explained how his side tactically outmanoeuvred their opponents during the keenly contested encounter.
”Tactically, we worked on our set-pieces very well. We lost from one, and we knew that if we practised them a lot, we could use them to our own advantage,” Maikaba added.
” We watched clips of Côte d’Ivoire against Niger and found that they struggled with long balls into the area. Coincidentally, we scored from two long throw-ins in the game,” the former Wikki Tourists head coach explained his side’s approach to the game.”
By Adeboye Amosu
