The outcome of the match was not enough to see them through to the semi finals.

The result meant that they finished third in Group B and dropped out of contention for a place in the Men’s Football Tournament of next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.

Failure at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo sustained an unsavoury streak of Nigeria appearing in the Men’s Football Tournament at every other Olympics since the year 2000.

Champions in 1996 in Atlanta, USA, where they won Africa’s first-ever football gold medal of the Olympics, the Nigeria U-23 participated in the tournament in Australia in 2000; missed the event in Greece in 2004; took part at the event in China in 2008 and won the silver medal; missed the tournament in the United Kingdom in 2012; participated in the event in Brazil in 2016 and won the bronze medal and; will now miss Tokyo 2020.

On a day they needed just one goal to topple the South Africans and assure of a place in the last four – irrespective of the result in the other match between Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia – the Olympic Eagles failed to find their sting in the fore, dancing too much on the ball without effective contact or meaningful touches in the opposition critical zone.

Perhaps awed by Nigeria’s array of stars in Kelechi Nwakali, Taiwo Awoniyi, Azubuike Okechukwu, Sincere Seth and Orji Okwonkwo, alongside respected home-based professionals Sunusi Ibrahim and Ndifreke Effiong, the South Africans preferred to absorb the heat for the first half hour.

Seeing that the Olympic Eagles lacked the punch when it mattered, the Amaglug-glug came out to attack.

And thrice they came close to putting the ball in the net, but met with the alertness and agility of goalkeeper Adamu Abubakar.

Abubakar also saved the Olympic Eagles in the second half, as the South Africans fired from every angle, while Nigeria were looking to walk the ball into the net and stubbornly stuck to an ineffective strategy of trying to make hay from the wings.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, said the failure of the Olympic Eagles was a shock.

“Working together with the Ministry of Sports, we have been able to provide the team with what is required for them to excel. The team’s failure to reach the semi finals and ultimately qualify for the Olympics is a big shock.

“Three years ago, football won the only medal that Nigeria took from the Olympics in Brazil. Our expectation was that this team would qualify for Tokyo and go there to do the country proud.”

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The absence of the duo was greatly felt in the opening game of Group B that the defending champions lost by the odd goal to Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday, and Amapakabo is confident their arrival will spur his squad to a better performance against the Zambians.

“I am happy we now have Awoniyi and our captain, Azubuike. They are integral to the team and were influential in our qualifying matches. We will throw everything into the game against Zambia because we have left ourselves no choice at this point.

“I believe we have the team to not only overcome Zambia but go all the way in the tournament. We stumbled against the Ivorians but we have learnt from that and we now look forward to rescuing our campaign against the Zambians and South Africans.”

Former U17 World Cup winner Awoniyi, who plays for FSV Mainz 05 in the German top division, landed in Cairo late on Sunday, while Turkey –based Okechukwu, who also captained the Class of 2015 and to the gold medal in Senegal, arrived in the early hours of Monday.

Okechukwu’s midfield partnership with Kelechi Nwakali was impactful in the handsome home wins over Libya and Sudan in the qualifying series, while Awoniyi got the important opener and also created chances in the defeat of Sudan that landed the Olympic Eagles in Egypt.

Nigeria take on Zambia at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Tuesday in a game they must pick up the maximum points to return to contention for a place in the semi finals of the competition, ahead of their clash with South Africa on Tuesday.

Only the top three finishers at the U23 AFCON will qualify to fly Africa’s flag at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Tokyo, Japan next year.

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