Nigeria’s quest for a place at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations came to an end after the Golden Eaglets could only draw 1-1 with Ivory Coast’s Young Elephants at the WAFU B tournament in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
After losing their opening game 2-1 to Niger, the young Nigerians needed an outright win against the Ivorians to keep their hopes alive, but they could not clear that hurdle. They fell behind inside the opening 20 minutes and had to claw their way back, levelling in the 84th minute.
A grandstand finish followed, but it produced no winner. The Ivorians held firm to join the Nigeriens in the semi-finals, while Nigeria finished bottom of Group B with just one point from two games.
The result means Nigeria will miss the U-17 AFCON for the third straight edition, and by extension the FIFA U-17 World Cup for a fourth straight time, a run that began after their last appearance at the global tournament in 2019.
For a country with five world titles at this level, that has caused a lot of anger at home with Nigeria coach Eboboritse Uwejamomere apologising to Nigerians after the game.
Our journey at the #U17WAFUB comes to an end. Unfortunately. https://t.co/CdV3tv9lwh
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) October 17, 2026
Despite the setback, Footy-Africa takes a look at three players from the latest Nigeria U-17 setup who showed promise and could go on to make a name for themselves in the not too distant future.
Fasiu Mubarak, Right winger
The attacker came off the bench in the opening loss to Niger and gave the Golden Eaglets an injection of pace and a different dimension going forward.
Fasiu Mubarak supercharged the attack and showed great instincts, which he summed up himself by pulling a goal back deep into stoppage time.
That earned him a start in the next game, where he didn’t stop running from the first whistle. He is a talent to watch and should be in the pipeline for the U20s.
The 🇳🇬Golden Eaglets continue to train ahead of the #U17WAFUB tournament in Burkina Faso from 10-23 October, 2026 https://t.co/CloP0nFvaa
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) October 8, 2026
Jamiu Isa, Centre-back
In a tournament where the defence had a hard time, the defender did just enough and was one of the few players in his position who left with any credit.
Jamiu Isa was a commanding presence at the back and played with a high motor, the kind of energy and appetite for the game that you can’t teach.
All things being equal, Jamiu should be a feature for Nigeria in the years to come.
Chinedu Nchojie, Right back
The right-back was astute in one-on-ones and aggressive in duels, which is exactly what you want from a defender at this level.
Chinedu Nchojie‘s attacking qualities can only get better, and the youngster holds his own in transition thanks to a decent amount of speed. Chinedu is another talent to watch going forward.
