Nigeria U20 men's national team secured their place at the reached the 23rd FIFA U20 World Cup finals on Thursday following a 1-0 quarter-final victory over Uganda in Ismailia in the 17th Africa U20 Cup of Nations.
The Flying Eagles continued their fine run in the competition since an opening 1-0 defeat to Senegal with a 2-0 victory over hosts Egypt and a 1-0 triumph over Mozambique to reach to the quarterfinal as Group A runners-up.
Squaring up against Group B winners, Uganda, the Crested Cranes got off to a flying start against Ladan Bosso's side and they forced goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso to a save as early as the 10th minute off a header.
Both sides continued to create scoring opportunities with Nigeria’s Ibrahim Muhammad and Haliru Sarki digging deep but both could not find a breakthrough in the opening 25th minute of the quarterfinal contest.
On the half-hour mark, Muhammad sent into the area a brilliant long ball and his effort saw the ball hit the upright, and Ugandan defender Ibrahim Juma turned the ball into his own net for the only goal of the match.
Four minutes after the restart, Muhammad came close for the Flying Eagles as his effort was too much to trouble the Cranes. In the 67th minute, Aniagboso was forced to point-blank saves, preserving Nigeria’s lead.
10 minutes from time, Samson Lawal also almost doubled the advantage and he blast over from a 22-yard free-kick.
The win guaranteed Nigeria a ticket to the tournament's semi-finals as well as a ticket to Indonesia. The Flying Eagles will take on the winner of the clash between Congo and Tunisia, at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday.
