Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets defeated South Africa 3-2 in their final Group B match on Saturday, securing their place in the 2023 U-17 AFCON quarterfinals.
Vicky Mkhawana gave South Africa the lead in the sixth minute.
Charles Agada tied the score for the Golden Eaglets in the 33rd minute, but Siyabonga Mabena gave South Africa a 2-1 lead after 45 minutes.
The Eaglets leveled the score with Light Eke just two minutes into the second half.
And Abubakar Abdullahi scored the Eaglets’ winning goal in the 63rd minute.
The Eaglets had to battle back from deficits on two separate occasions before securing the victory to advance.
With this victory, the Eaglets move up to second place on six points, trailing only Morocco.
South Africa can still make it to the round of eight despite losing because they are one of the three top best loser teams.
In the other matchup in Group B, Morocco fell to bottom-placed Zambia 2-1.