Golden Eaglets: Uwejamomere Understands Fans’ Anger After AFCON Qualifying Exit
Nigeria’s U17 head coach, Eboboritse Uwejamomere, has admitted that fans back home may be angry following the Golden Eaglets’ early exit from the WAFU B U17 Championship in Burkina Faso.
The Golden Eaglets were eliminated from the qualifying tournament after playing a 1-1 draw with Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday, October 17, 2026. The result came after Nigeria lost 2-1 to Niger Republic in their opening Group B match.
Speaking after the draw, Uwejamomere acknowledged the disappointment of Nigerian fans, saying he understood their high expectations of the national team.
“For the fans back home, I’m sure there is a bitter feeling. A lot of them probably hate me right now, hate us right now. But this is normal because they are fans, they are proud Nigerians,” the coach said.
“They want and they expect us every game we need to win, every tournament we need to win. That’s normal. If I was back home, I would feel disappointment as well.”
The coach’s comments came after Nigeria failed to progress beyond the group stage, finishing bottom of Group B with one point from two matches.
Despite the disappointment, Uwejamomere said the team’s main problem was a lack of quality in the final third, which prevented the players from turning their attacking efforts into clear scoring chances.
“The final ball, the final action, the final touch before the finish, that’s what we were lacking,” he explained.
“Even when we were attacking, we saw a lot of the ball and got it into the final third, but we actually didn’t create clear-cut chances to score.”
Nigeria fell behind against Côte d’Ivoire midway through the first half following confusion in their defence. However, the Eaglets improved after the break and pushed for an equaliser.
Substitute John Abiodun restored parity with five minutes left after a solo run by Colombus Igboenyobe.
Abiodun almost completed the comeback in the 89th minute but sent his effort over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat. A minute later, Nigeria were denied by an excellent save from the Ivorian goalkeeper.
Uwejamomere, however, urged his young players to learn from the experience, describing the tournament as an early chapter in their football careers.
“For my players, obviously young boys, 15, 16-year-olds, still have years and years ahead of them. This is like the first chapter of their career going into elite football,” he said.
“So it’s just to learn from this and use this as an experience going forward in their career.”
Nigeria’s elimination means the country will miss a third consecutive U17 Africa Cup of Nations and a fourth successive FIFA U17 World Cup.
Niger Republic finished top of Group B with four points, while Côte d’Ivoire came second with two points.
Attention now turns to Tuesday, October 20, when Ghana will face Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso will take on Niger Republic for places in the WAFU B final.
