Nigeria defeat sends Togo out of U20 WAFU-B tournament and ends CAN hopes

Togo have been knocked out of the UFOA-B U20 tournament, and with it the race for a place at the U20 Africa Cup of Nations, after a 3-0 defeat by Nigeria in their second Group B match.

King Ametokodo’s side, known as the Eperviers Juniors, have now lost both of their games at the regional qualifying competition, leaving them with no mathematical chance of reaching the CAN U20 finals.

Togo went into Thursday’s fixture needing a positive result to stay alive in the group, following a 3-1 loss to Burkina Faso in their opening match. Instead, Nigeria took control of the qualification picture with a dominant second-half display.

Nigeria strike after the interval

For 45 minutes, Togo managed to frustrate Nigeria. Well organised and compact at the back, the Eperviers Juniors held their opponents to a goalless first half, going in at the break at 0-0 and still in contention.

The contest changed almost immediately after the restart. Abdulmuiz Adeleke broke the deadlock in the 47th minute, putting Nigeria 1-0 up and seizing the momentum for the group favourites.

Togo struggled to respond to that setback and Nigeria capitalised. Adeleke extended the lead on the hour mark, completing his brace in the 60th minute to leave Ametokodo’s team facing an uphill battle at 2-0 down.

Unable to find a way back into the match, Togo conceded again before the final whistle, with Nigeria running out 3-0 winners and strengthening their own prospects of reaching the CAN U20 via the UFOA-B route.

Togo left playing for pride against Ghana

With two defeats from two matches, Togo’s elimination from contention for a U20 Africa Cup of Nations berth is already confirmed ahead of the final round of group fixtures.

The Eperviers U20 will now look to salvage some pride in their closing Group B game against Ghana, aiming to end a difficult qualifying campaign on a more positive note despite having no further stake in the race for the CAN U20.