Duro Ikhazuagbe
15 September 2008
Lagos — Nigeria, the defending champion of FIFA's Under-17 World Cup and hosts of the next edition here in Nigeria next year, yesterday in Cotonou suffered the embarrassment of being kicked out of the African Championship slated for Algeria early next year.
The Eaglets lost the crucial game 3-0. They had won the first leg played in Port Harcourt 2-0 to crash out 3-2 aggregate.
The outcome was a replica of the same fate South Africa's senior team suffered missing the African Cup of Nations in Angola same year they will be hosting the 2010 World Cup.
The Beninoise did not leave anyone in doubt, straight from kick off that they were out to cancel Nigeria's two-goal advantage from the first leg. Zodi Romueld set the stage early in the 7th minute when he got the curtain raiser flipping the ball over Phillip Emmanuel in goal for the Eaglets.
Although the officiating of the game fell below acceptable standard, the Beninoise, however, took advantage of the incompetence of the man in the middle to pile series of attacks on the Alphonsus Dike tutored lads.
Jodi Harold secured the vital second for the hosts on the half hour mark, giving the home fans the hope that a third was possible to earn the ticket to Algiers for the African Championship.
The second half was little better than the first for the Nigerian lads but the skills exhibited failed to justify the many months of gallivanting the length and breadth of the country all in search of young boys who will emulate the class of 2007 that won the diadem with late Coach Yemi Tella in South Korea.
But in the 3rd minute of the added time, after the second half failed to produce the winner, Lazadi Fousseni separated the champions from the losers when his 30-meter pile driver gave Benin the well-deserved third goal and the ticket to North Africa.
While the Eaglets broke down in tears, mourning their loss, thousands of Benin fans trooped into the streets of Cotonou celebrating conquering the 'mighty' Nigerian team.
They mocked and jeered every Nigerian fan spotting the white and green colours of the country. Members of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club who were there to drum supports for the Eaglets became the butts of the Benin fans who derided them as losers.
Nigeria won the first leg 2-0 at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt on August 30 but failed to consolidate on that victory yesterday.
But for the fact that Nigeria is hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup yesterday's defeat would have meant the dream of taking part in the global competition would have ended.
Godwin Izilien was the last coach to handle a Golden Eaglets side which failed to take part in the global competition when his team failed to secure one of the tickets at the African Championships, which held in Gambia three years ago.
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