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Nigeria’s Flying Eagles suffered a 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast’s Young Elephants in their second pre-2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations friendly at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny on Friday, Footynaija.com reports.
Captain Daniel Bameyi and Foster Academy forward Divine Oliseh were on target as Nigeria defeated the Ivorians in the first friendly on Wednesday.
Intl Friendly: The Flying Eagles were 2-0 winners over Young Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the first of two matches at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in CIV
— MikeThePundit (@Mike_ThePundit) February 26, 2025
Both teams will square up to each other again at the same venue on Friday. pic.twitter.com/PoJJD1Pjqe
However, the Baby Elephants showed their quality on Friday evening to exact their sweet revenge.
The Ivorians made the breakthrough in the 17th minute when Tape Yaya Kader fired a precise shot from outside the box, beating Nigeria’s goalkeeper to hand the hosts the lead.
Nigeria, under the guidance of head coach Aliyu Zubairu, struggled to carve out clear-cut chances against a resolute Ivorian defence. The Flying Eagles’ best attacking efforts fell short as the Young Elephants remained compact and disciplined.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute after Odinaka Okoro conceded a penalty. Isacc Cisse stepped up and calmly slotted home from the spot to give Ivory Coast a commanding 2-0 lead.
Despite late pressure from Nigeria, the Ivorians held firm to claim victory, leaving the Flying Eagles with plenty to ponder ahead of next year’s U-20 AFCON in Guinea.
Zubairu will be hoping to sharpen his side’s attacking play as they continue preparations for the tournament, where they will face Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa in the group stage.
With only the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals — and securing places at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile — Nigeria will need to find their best form quickly to meet their objectives.
