BIG SHOCK: Nigeria U23 Crash Out Of 2020 Olympic In Tokyo
Nigeria’s under-23 have crash out of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after a 0-0 draw against South Africa in their last Group B game at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations at Al-Salam Stadium in Egypt on Friday night.
The team approached the game by attacking their South African counterpart from the blast of the referee whistle as Taiwo Awoniyi forced South African goalkeeper, Darren Johnson to an early save.Nigeria dictated the pace of the game with some possessional football but the team could not breakdown the stubborn defence of the South Africans.
Kelechi Nwakali and Ibrahim Sanusi could have broken the deadlock in the 36th and 44th minutes, however, their low strikes failed to threaten the South African goalkeeper.South Africa could have taken a shock lead in the 67th minute as Lyle Foster long volley was parried away by Nigerian goalkeeper, Adamu Abubakar.Both teams made every effort to score but all proved abortive as Nigeria’s Dream Team failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games after Cote d’Ivoire defeated Zambia 1-0 to top the group with six points.South Africa will now face hosts Egypt, who won Group A in the semifinals, while Cote d’Ivoire take on Ghana in an all-West African derby.
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