Lawal, Mohammed send Flying Eagles to quarter final following win over Mozambique

Nigeria's Flying Eagles have qualified for the knockout stages of the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations following a 2-0 win over Mozambique in their final Group A game on Saturday.

First-half goals from Samson Lawal and Ibrahim Mohammed were all Nigeria's U-20 side needed as they secured a comfortable win over Mozambique in Ismaila, joining already qualified teams in the next stage of the competition.

Bosso's side becomes the fifth team to make the quarterfinals after Senegal, Congo, Uganda and Gambia.

The encounter at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia saw the Flying Eagles dominate festivities from the beginning of the game, with Muhammad testing the Mozambican keeper in the fifth minute with a speculative shot from distance.

Nigeria continued to pile pressure on Mozambique with Haliru Sarki and Muhammad trying their shots at scoring, and it finally, in the 32nd minute, Ladan Bosso's side got in front.

For a player who had kept Nigeria at bay for over 30 minutes, it took Samson Lawal to score a stunning long-range shot to beat Mozambique's goalkeeper Kimiss Zavala.

The Flying Eagles doubled their lead four minutes before halftime through Muhammad, whose umpteenth attempt, after an assist by Muhammad Aminu, saw him send a sumptuous strike into the back of Mozambique's goal.

The second half was a close game, with Nigeria making substitutions to allow other players a chance to play while Mozambique played on the break.

Bosso introduced the likes of Jude Sunday and Olamilekan Adams who on different occasions, attempted to increase the Flying Eagles but failed at it no thanks to Zavala.

The result sees the Flying Eagles now join Senegal in the quarterfinals, while Egypt and Mozambique are eliminated.