Nigeria’s U20 MNT started their AFCON campaign in Egypt in the worst possible way as they fell 1-0 to the Young Teranga Lions of Senegal.
The Flying Eagles went behind against the run of play after a swift counter-attack by Senegal.
Goalkeeper Nathaniel Nwosu had parried the initial effort before Souleymane Faye pounced on the loose ball and stabbed into the net.
In a rather forgettable turn of events, Flying Eagles forward, Ahmed Abdullahi, got sent off in the 96th minute of the game with the team pressing hard for an equalizer.
The defeat will definitely leave the coaching crew a headache as the team lack co-ordination and there was no rhythm to their style despite having a slight edge on the possession.
Meanwhile, victory for Senegal puts them on top of group A ahead of Egypt, who shared the points with Mozambique in the tournament’s opening match.
Nigeria is rock-bottom in the group, being the only team without a point after game day 1 of the tournament.
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🇳🇬Here’s how group A stands after matchday 1️⃣#TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/Lgsrw2cBXm
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 (@CAF_Online) February 19, 2023
Coach Ladan Bosso and his lads will be back on Wednesday, when they face host nation Egypt is a game with very high stakes.
Nigeria must get a bounce back win to stay in the competition and improve their chances of qualification either through the group or as one of two third placed teams.
