Nigeria Under-20 head coach Abdu Maikaba has said the Flying Eagles should have scored more goals in their 4-2 victory over Ghana as they began the defence of their WAFU B U-20 Championship title in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, on Monday.
A brace from Muiz Adeleke, alongside goals from Olayemi Ayinla and Oraro Lucky, secured victory over the Black Satellites in Maikaba’s first competitive match in charge. However, the coach felt the scoreline did not fully reflect his side’s dominance.
Nigeria made a flying start, with Ayinla opening the scoring in the sixth minute before Lucky doubled the lead after half an hour. Adeleke added a third shortly before the break to put the Flying Eagles firmly in control.
Ghana fought back with two goals to reduce the deficit and set up a tense finish, but Adeleke converted an 89th-minute penalty to seal the win.
Despite the convincing result, Maikaba believed his players could have extended their advantage had they been more composed in front of goal during the closing stages.
“If you see the last ten minutes of the game, we created about three or four scoring opportunities which we missed narrowly,” he said.
“I believe our boys were so anxious to make it count; that is why they lost such opportunities. They would have been calm in front of goal and converted such chances. It would have been more than four.”
Maikaba also revealed that his side’s early breakthrough was the result of a deliberate tactical plan.
“We planned that we have to try and score in the opening 15 minutes, and we got it in the first five. Ghana were able to come back, but we are still determined to continue with the lead,” he said.
“Any time Nigeria are playing Ghana, it is a tough game. It can go either way, but scoring first gave us that advantage.”
The victory keeps Nigeria on course for a third successive WAFU B U-20 Championship title, having won the competition in 2022 before successfully defending it in 2024 with a 2-1 final victory over Ghana.
The Flying Eagles will face Togo on 30 July before concluding their group campaign against Burkina Faso on 2 August. Both matches will kick off at 2pm local time (3pm Nigerian time) at the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro.
