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| Flying Eagles of Nigeria players in action against Ghana in 2026 WAFU |
Nigeria U-20 head coach Abdu Maikaba admitted his Flying Eagles should have scored more goals despite opening their WAFU B U-20 Championship title defence with a convincing 4-2 victory over Ghana on Monday in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.
The Flying Eagles made an impressive start to life under Maikaba, who was taking charge of his first competitive match, as they defeated long-time rivals Ghana's Black Satellites to claim all three points in their Group B opener.
Muiz Adeleke starred with a brace, while Olayemi Ayinla and Oraro Lucky also found the net to give Nigeria a strong winning start.
Nigeria wasted little time asserting their dominance, with Ayinla opening the scoring in the sixth minute before Lucky doubled the advantage in the 30th minute. Adeleke then added a third just before halftime to put the defending champions in complete control.
Ghana mounted a second-half fightback with two goals to cut the deficit and briefly threaten a comeback, but Adeleke calmly converted an 89th-minute penalty to secure the victory.
Despite the four-goal haul, Maikaba expressed disappointment that his players failed to capitalize on several late scoring opportunities.
"If you see the last ten minutes of the game, we created about three or four scoring opportunities which we missed narrowly," Maikaba said after the match.
"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."
The coach also revealed that Nigeria's fast start was part of the team's tactical approach before kickoff.
"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.
"Anytime Nigeria is 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 consecutive WAFU B U-20 Championship title after winning the tournament in 2022 and successfully defending the crown in 2024 with a 2-1 final win over Ghana.
The Flying Eagles will continue their Group B campaign against Togo on July 30 before facing Burkina Faso on August 2. Both matches will be played at the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro, with kick-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. Nigeria time).