Nigeria’s Flying Eagles fell short in the final of the WAFU B U-20 tournament on Wednesday night, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire after a late blunder by goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt.
The tightly contested match was decided in the dying minutes when Côte d’Ivoire earned a free-kick.
Harcourt, who had been solid throughout the tournament, came out to collect what appeared to be a routine delivery.
However, he spilled the ball directly in front of an Ivorian attacker, who pounced on the opportunity and calmly slotted home the decisive goal.
Despite the costly lapse, Harcourt had played a pivotal role in getting Nigeria to the final, most notably with a crucial save during the penalty shootout victory against Niger Republic in the semi-final.
Earlier on Wednesday, hosts Ghana secured third place with a 2-0 win over Niger Republic.
The WAFU B U-20 tournament serves as part of Nigeria’s build-up to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, scheduled to run from September 27 to October 19.
The Flying Eagles, coached by Aliyu Zubairu, have been drawn into Group F alongside Colombia, Saudi Arabia, and Norway.
They will kick off their campaign against Norway on September 29, face Saudi Arabia on October 2, and wrap up their group stage against Colombia on October 5.
At their previous appearance in the U-20 World Cup held in Argentina, the Flying Eagles made it to the quarter-finals, where they were edged 1-0 by South Africa after extra time.
