LA 28: Nigeria incur Brighton wrath as the Olympics dream vanishes

Nigeria’s U23 Eagles are on the verge of missing out on Olympic football for the third successful tournament after suffering a 2-0 defeat to DR Congo in the first leg of their U-23 AFCON qualifiers in Lubumbashi. 

After missing the 2020 and 2024 tournaments, there was huge pressure on the current crop of the U-23 team to return to Olympic football. 

However, two first-half goals condemned the current Dream to a damaging defeat ahead of the second leg in Ikene next Wednesday. 

The Leopards showed their intent right from the start, taking the lead inside the opening 20 minutes after Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Samuel James, failed to deal with a cross. 

Moments later, the home side doubled their lead through Filozofe Mabete, who capitalised on James’ hesitation to come out for a cross. 

Things then went from bad to worse for Nigeria, as Zadok Yoahanna, who was playing his first game since the summer went off with an apparent hamstring injury. 

Yohanna’s injury will likely anger his club Brighton, as the Seagulls were reluctant to release the youngster for this clash. 

With Yohanna out, Nigeria tried to find a way to get back in the game but offered little to nothing as DR Congo went into the break with a two-goal lead. 

The Olympic Eagles did show more effort in the second half, but it was the home side that almost extended their lead as the game went on. 

However, there were no further goals, with the home side preserving their two-goal lead ahead of the return leg. 

The Olympic Eagles now face an uphill task in the second leg, as they will need to win by at least a three-goal margin to qualify for the next round of qualifiers. 

Should they fail to overturn the deficit, they will complete a disastrous era for Nigerian football after the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the World Cup.