A day after losing 1-2 to Kaduna based football academy Triple O in a test game, the Nigeria U17 team suffered their second straight defeat losing 4-6 to Derby Football Academy.

The first half of the ten goal thriller ended 3-1 in favor of the Academy and they added three more goals in the second half, the same as the Nduka Ugabde led team scored in the second half.

They however secured the win on the strength of how they ended the first half. The back to back defeat has shown the technical crew that works still has to be done ahead of the start of the U17 AFCON in Algeria, the tournament is the qualifiers for the U17 World Cup.

Nigeria have won the U17 World Cup a record five times and qualified for the AFCON by emerging as champions of the WAFU B championship in Ghana last year. They defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final.

The Golden Eaglets, will battle against Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia in Group B of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

Mohammed Mowiz

The Nigeria U17 team who are currently in camp preparing for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations have suffered their first defeat in test games after losing 1-2 to Kaduna based football academy Triple O, OGN reports.

Before taking on Triple O, they started the day by beating Click Sports Academy of Lagos 6-0. Both games were held at the training ground of the Package B of the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja.

The second game was by far the most entertaining with Triple O matching the Nduka Ugabde led team in almost all areas of the pitch. They went into the break leading the Nigerian team 1-0.

Golden Eaglet drew level early into the second half before a penalty was awarded to the visitors. They duly converted to go 2-1 up with them minutes left to play in the game but another twist that would have brought scores to 2-2 happened at the death.

The Nigerian team were awarded a late penalty but it was missed and it meant they suffered their first defeat in test games as they fine tune preparations for the U17 AFCON in Algeria.

At the tournament the Golden Eaglets will battle against Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia in Group B of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. The tournament is the qualifiers for the U17 World Cup.

Mohammed Mowiz

Crystal Palace star forward Michael Olise has made it clear that he doesn’t see himself playing for Algeria in the nearest future after recent approach by the country’s FA requesting him to pledge his future to them.

Eligible for France, England, Nigeria and Algeria, Olise who is presently a youth international for France has become the case of a tug between the African countries after establishing himself as a regular at Palace this season.

The height of his performance was the freekick goal he scored at the death which earned them a 1-1 draw against Manchester United. That goal again reenforced the belief that the 21 year old is destined for big things in the future.

OGN exclusively gathered that he sees himself as a French international in the future but if it doesn’t happen before the next world cup then he will be open to playing for Nigeria and not Algeria.

” He has a certain attachment to the Nigerian team and that is why he accepted a call up to the team two years ago. He didn’t honour it due to issues and also the sack of the coach but he still has Nigeria in mind, if he doesn’t make it with the French team”, a source close to the 21 year old told OGN.

” His decision to turn down an invitation from Algeria has led to talks of them shaming him that he can’t get into the Nigerian team but I can tell you. If Nigeria come calling at the right time, he will jump at it.  Take my words”, he rounded up saying.

The coach of the Nigeria U20 team Ladan Bosso is open to the idea of tweaking his final list of players for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt, OGN understands.

Bosso has already finalized a 25 man list from where he will pick his final squad of 21 players after the final phase of their camping exercise in Morocco. That plan has however changed slightly per what we understand.

With the team set to depart Nigeria later today if all goes according to plan, the coach is open to the idea of Ahmed Abdullahi one of the players who helped the team win the WAFU B tournament join the team in Morocco. He scored twice in Niger Republic before a head injury ended his participation in the tournament.

Abdullahi plays for the B team of Belgium side Gent and it was initially said he won’t be released for the tournament with his fitness not at it’s optimum level following a return from injury. They have now decided to give him the green light to team up with the team in Morocco.

He has played six games totalling 228 minutes this season, the last of which came in the 5-1 loss to OH Leuven. In that game he played for 18 minutes as he continues to build his way back to full fitness.

The decision to hand him a shot at making the team was taken with the coaches not entirely satisfied with the striker’s at their disposal but still want him to prove his fitness in camp before a decision will be taken on handing him a spot in the team.

Waziri Damian.

The senior international future of Folarin Balogun , the top scorer in the French Ligue 1 is one that will see Nigeria go head to head with USA and England, OGN reports.

Balogun has 14 goals for Reims, where he is on loan from English Premier League side Arsenal and currently represents England at youth level. He however admits that he is open to switching allegiance to the other two countries he is eligible for.

21 year old Balogun won’t be eligible for England at youth level in around a year time and that is when a decision on his senior international career will be made, but that can be hasten by Nigeria if those in the corridors of power act decisively.

OGN exclusively gathered that former Arsenal striker Kanu Nwankwo is one player Balogun strongly admires and he will be open to having a chat about his international future, if the former captain of the senior national team of Nigeria is involved in the talks.

Kanu is a role model to several Nigerian players abroad and his ties with Arsenal makes it even more appealing but for now he hasn’t been given the task by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hold talks with Balogun.

Cameroon and Mali are the former champions who will face off in the same group at the TotalEnergies Under-17 AFCON. The draw for the tournament to be held in Algeria was released recently, and has some exciting group matches lined up. If you are a sports betting enthusiast, this tournament will allow you to test your knowledge of African football. Let’s take a look at the groups.

U17 Afcon 2023 Groups

Group A

Algeria, the tournament’s host, is in Group A with Senegal, Congo, and Somalia. The Group A matches will be played at the capital city of Algiers, where Algeria will hope the support of home fans can help them progress to the tournament’s next stage.

Group B

Group B includes two-time winners Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia. All Group B matches will be played in the city of Constantine.

Nigeria won the U17 AFCON title in 2001 and 2007. They were the runners-up in 1995 and 2013 and finished third in 2003. Additionally, the Super Eaglets finished fourth twice in 2015 and 2019.

South Africa’s best finish was runners-up in the 2015 tournament, while Morocco managed a fourth-place finish in the 2013 tournament, which they hosted.  

Group C

This is a tough group as it brings together two two-time winners, Mali and Cameroon. The other nations in this group are former champions Burkina Faso and South Sudan, who are debutants. This group’s matches will be played in the city of Annaba.   

Cameroon is the defending champions after winning the tournament in 2019 in Tanzania. The African soccer giants also won the tournament in 2003. Also, the Cameroon camp had to deal with age-cheating claims during the qualifiers. Nonetheless, they are undoubtedly the favorites for bettors on soccer betting platforms like Betway to retain the title.

Mali is also a two-time winner of the tournament, having won the tournament in 2015 and 2017. They were also the runners-up in the 1997 tournament. Burkina Faso won the tournament in 2011

When Was The Draw?

CAF Director of competitions Khaed Nasser conducted the tournament’s draw at Cercle National de l’Armee in Algiers, Algeria, on Wednesday, February 01. The draw was conducted after the conclusion of the qualifiers, which took place across the continent.

Mr. Khaed was helped by African football legends Herita Ilunga of DR Congo and Ibrahim Bekakchi of Algeria to conduct the draw. Football betting fans on Betway must have followed this draw keenly as they prepare their wagering strategies for the tournament.

When Is The U17 AFCON Tournament?

The U17 African Cup of Nations will start on April 29 and end on May 19. Furthermore, Under-17 football fans will be glad to see the tournament’s return after a brief break.

They will play the matches in three stadiums in three cities as outlined below:

• Algiers – Nelson Mandela Stadium
• Annaba – May 19, 1956, Stadium
• Constantine- Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium

This is an important tournament for the participants because the top four will qualify for the World Cup to be played later in the year.

The massive earthquake that rocked some parts of Turkey is reported to have claimed at least 1,000 lives. It has been described as one of the heaviest to have hit the country in recent years.

A lot of people have been reaching out to their loved ones to ensure they are safe with reports of thousands of people trapped in the wreckage. So far the news has been more about Ghana’s footballer Christian Atsu.

Atsu plays for Turkish side Hataysport, a club he joined last summer and is located in the province that has been severely hit by the earthquake, which is measured at 7.7 magnitude. His case isn’t an isolated one we gathered.

Nigeria international forward Henry Onyekuru who plays for Adana Demirspor on loan from Olympiakos hasn’t been heard from for the past three days. He has been unusually silent on social media as well.

His Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook handles have been inactive for days and recent reports suggest that all efforts to reach him on the phone haven’t been successful. There is no information from his club on his safety as well.

A source close to the player in a chat made available to OGN claimed he is safe and doing well but there is still no official confirmation on his safety or whereabouts.

Also two other Nigerian players in David Babajide, a teammate of Onyekuru and young goalkeeper Emmanuel James of Gaziantep have also not been heard from since the disaster that has left the entire country in shock.

Daniel Martins

The coach of the Nigeria U20 team Ladan Bosso has picked a pool of 25 players who will be heading to the team’s training camp in Morocco for the final phase of preparation for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Bosso’s squad is way different from the team that won the WAFU B championship in Niger Republic with the coach bringing in over nine new players to beef up certain areas in the team and also compensate for the absence of some players due to several issues.

OGN picks five new players who are set to play a pivotal role for the team when the tournament begins in Egypt.

1. Adams Olamilekan : A winger turned striker by Bosso. The Remo Stars forward has all it takes to be a big hit at the AFCON. He is strong, moves well and goes into tackles to put the press on defenders. He is always moving to create space for himself making it hard to pin him down. He can also shoot very well with his left foot.

2.Nicholas Jonathan: Drafted in from Kaduna based side Simoiben Football Academy. The left footed playmaker creates goal scoring chances with ease and his bags of tricks makes it easy for him to beat the press with ease. Very comfortable playing behind the main striker and can also score belters as seen in some of their test games.

3. Jude Sunday: Strong, quick and also deadly. He tends to put defenders on the back foot with the way he runs at them directly. The Real Sapphire Academy prospect is one of the latest lieutenants in the Bosso’s squad for the war in Egypt.

4 . Benjamin Fredrick: Probably not really new but set to play a prominent role. Registration issues denied him a chance of getting into the WAFU B championship team but he was part of the enlarged squad. Now a prominent player, the manner with which he slotted into the defence in the win over Zambia led to talks of how well he dovetails nicely with Daniel Bamaiyi. His performance has no doubt put him in pole position to nail a permanent spot in the team.

5. Emmanuel Uchegbu- Plugged from GBS Football Academy of Jos. Left footed, quick, strong and very clinical when he operates from the right. Scored a striker’s goal against Zambia and the manner which he takes up clever position in the box isn’t quite popular. He will no doubt trouble defenses at the AFCON.

Mohammed Mowiz