THE Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will face Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria following the conclusion of the group stages last night.
Burkina Faso booked their place in the last eight after a 2-1 victory over defending champions Cameroon last night earned them second spot in Group C.
The battle between the West African countries will take place on Thursday at the new Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers from 8pm Nigerian time, with the winners proceeding to the semi-finals.
The clash is effectively a playoff for the FIFA U-17 World Cup as all the AFCON semi-finalists are guaranteed tickets to the global tournament, which the Golden Eaglets have won five times previously.
South Africa, who squeezed into the last eight after finishing third in Nigeria’s group, will kick off the quarter-finals with a clash against Group A winners Senegal on Wednesday, also at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
Senegal won all their group fixtures while South Africa lost to both Nigeria and Morocco, beating only Zambia.
It will be followed by the big North African derby in Constantine on Wednesday night between hosts Algeria, who finished second in Group A, and Group B winners Morocco.
On Thursday before Nigeria versus Burkina Faso, Annaba will host the third quarter-final where two-time champions Mali will face Congo, the other of the best two third-placed teams.
Mali had a perfect record in three-team Group C where they topped with two wins.
If the Golden Eaglets overcome Burkina Faso, they will be up against either Senegal or South Africa in the semi-final on Sunday in Constantine.
The other semi-final clash will be between Morocco/Algeria and Mali/Congo in Annaba, also on Sunday.
