U17 AFCON: Five talking points from Golden Eaglets 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso 

Nigeria's U-17 national team on Thursday lost 2-1 to Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria and consequently failed to pick one of the four tickets to the FIFA U-17 World Cup later in the year.

The following are the five talking points from the loss to the Young Etalons. 

1. Lost possession

The Golden were guilty of giving away the ball in critical moments of the game which led to rapid counter attacks from the Francophone West Africans.

Perhaps the grass had something to do with it as the boys slipped at some points albeit it could be argued that the Burkinabes also played on same turf. 

2. Pressure on Burkina Faso 

The Golden Eaglets had their great moments too and were able to make the opponents uncomfortable with their pressing game. 

This was why the boys coached by Nduka Ugbade were able to get decent goal scoring chances. 

3. Golden Eaglets lucky with the cards

Players of the Eaglets were guilty of committing fouls especially in the first half that could have landed some of their players in trouble. 

Luckily (if that sounds like a good consolation) the players were not booked. 

4. Tame efforts 

The Golden Eaglets resorted to long range shots that did not trouble the Burkina Faso goalkeeper.

The build-up plays were beautiful and ought to have ended up as goals but the players' final decisions left much to be desired. 

5. Players camaraderie

The Golden Eaglets players were behind each other in repelling the Young Etalons especially from the counter attacks. 

The Nigerian players reduced the threat of the west African foes and also coped with the set pieces. 

Izuchukwu Michael

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