The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have failed to qualify for the U-17 Nations Cup despite beating Ghana 3-2 to win the bronze medal at the WAFU B tournament, which serves as the qualifiers for the competition.

Imrana Muhammad opened the scoring for Nigeria in the ninth minute following a goal mouth scramble.

Ghana restored parity when a Golden Eaglets defender diverted the ball into his own net.

Ghana took the lead for the first time in the game in the 27th minute when Harve Gbafa profited from a defensive blunder to beat goalkeeper Dominic Chinedu in goal for Nigeria.

Adeleke brought Nigeria back into the game before scoring a last minute winner to hand the Golden Eaglets a deserved 3-2 win.

The Confederation of African Football has clarified that next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations will still have 12 finalists in attendance, as against the minimum of 16 teams being projected by African football enthusiasts.

This means that despite defeating host nation Ghana in Tuesday’s third-place match of the WAFU B U17 Championship, the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have not qualified for the finals.

CAF’s Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu confirmed that the final competition will have 12 teams and not 16, meaning the Golden Eaglets will miss out on the U-17 Nations Cup and ultimately the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

He said: “The final tournament will still have 12 teams.”

Expectations had been high among African football aficionados that the 2025 Africa U17 Cup of Nations would be expanded, following FIFA’s allocation, at its Congress in Bangkok, penultimate week, of 10 slots to the continent for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup that Qatar has been designated to host.

Qatar will host five consecutive FIFA U17 World Cup finals beginning next year, each having 48 teams in attendance.