The Flying Eagles opened the defence of their WAFU B U-20 Championship with a 1-0 defeat to Burkina Faso at the Municipal Stadium on Friday.
Early on in the game, Kparobo Arierhi was put through on goal, but he disappointedly failed to hit the target before Burkina Faso went to the other end to force Nathaniel Nwosu to make a save.
In the 22nd minute, Nwosu made another save to deny the young Stallions from taking the lead, calmly grasping a free-kick floated into his area.
Four minutes later, Burkina Faso got another chance to open the scoring when a cross was floated into the area, but the resultant header went wide.
A few minutes after the restart, Nasiru Salihu made an ambitious attempt from a long way out, but his effort was far from hitting the target.
The Young Stallions opened the scoring in the 66th minute through Coulibaly Dramane, who fired the ball after Nigerian failed to clear a set piece.
Dramane’s strike was the difference between the two sides as the defending champions couldn’t muster any clear attempt at goal until the end of the game.
Nigeria will now face Ivory Coast in their next group game and have to avoid another defeat to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round.
