Burundi Lose 2-0 to Nigeria in Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Opener

Burundi lost 2-0 to Nigeria in their opening Total Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations finals Group A match on Saturday.

The Young Swallows conceded the two goals in the second half from Yahaya Nafizi and Effiom Maxwell at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey.

The loss came hours after host nation Niger Republic and South Africa drew 1-1 in the opening game of the tournament and the group’s other match.

The first half saw Burundi in firm control of the match, but for all their pressing, a stubborn Flying Eagles defense managed to keep them at bay, but only barely.

Burundi set out their stall from the first whistle, but some misplaced passing in the final third saw them unable to create any clear-cut chances.

They had their first shot on goal in the ninth minute – Jules Ulimwengu letting rip with a 25-yard free-kick, but he saw his thunderbolt skim to the wrong side of the post.

Seven minutes later and they were threatening again, this time from a corner kick that resulted in Eric Mbirizi letting fly from just outside the box, but his effort sailed inches wide of the right-hand post.

The second half saw Swallows seeing a bit more of the ball and they had a couple of long-range shots early in the half, but the momentum of the game soon took the same pattern of the first as the Flying Eagles began to control matters and confirmed their dominance with the opening goal in the 55th minute.

Some swift passing in and around the area resulted in Yahaya finding space inside the 18-yard box and producing a well-placed finish into the bottom corner.

The result was then put beyond doubt 18 minutes from time when Maxwell latched onto the ball and scored from close range.

The championship continues on Sunday with matches in the all-West African Group B, where Senegal, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso battle it out.