Nigeria’s Dream Team VI Qualifies As Super Falcons Lose Rio Olympic Tickets

However, the Congo, guided by famed French coach Claude Le Roy, can eliminate Nigeria on away goals by winning 1-0 at the Stade Municipal in the Atlantic oil hub.

Coach Samson Siasia’s boys piped the Congolese 2-1 in the first leg and battled to a 0-0 draw with in the return leg in Pointe-Noire on Sunday, August 2 to qualify for the championship.

Nigeria excelled on the road this year in All-Africa Games qualifiers – which are also restricted to under-23 players – winning 4-1 in Gabon and 2-1 in Zambia.

Nigeria thus joined hosts Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Zambia and Egypt for the tournament proper, which will serve as a qualifying series for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Dream Team VI striker, Daniel Etor has hailed his teammates for standing strong in the face of opposition and resisting all antics to nick a spot in the Caf U23 Championship slated for Senegal between November 28 and December 12. The last slot up for grabs is been contested between Mali and Gabon.

The Gabonese had to score first to have a realistic chance of salvaging the tie, and they did after 68 minutes.

A tough game that it was expected to be, the Nigerians gave no inch to the home team right from the blast of the whistle, and looked the more likely to get a goal after four corner kicks inside the first half-hour.

The aggregate victory means Nigeria can continue the quest for a seventh appearance at the men’s football tournament of the Olympics, since first turning out at the 1968 Games in Mexico City.