Nigeria, Oct. 15 -- Nigeria's Golden Eaglets began their 2026 WAFU B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Niger in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Abdoul Razaq Zada opened the scoring for Niger in the 19th minute before Abdoul Rakilou doubled the advantage in the 86th minute.

Mubarak Fasiu pulled one back for Nigeria in the fifth minute of added time, but the late goal was insufficient to prevent the Eaglets from suffering defeat in their opening Group B fixture.

The result handed Niger all three points and moved them to the top of the group with four points from two matches.

Niger also secured qualification for the semi-finals following the victory, while Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire remain in contention for th...