The Dream Team Made it to Brazil 2016

Nigeria Wednesday beat hosts Senegal 1-0 to reach the final of the CAF under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, and also cemented their participation at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Oghenkaro Etebo scored from the spot to break the hearts of the Senegalese and the home crowd who were expectant of a victory. But the introduction of Victor Osimhen turned the match on its head, this was after goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel made several crucial saves to keep Nigeria in the game dream-team.

In the first half the Senegalese had the Eagles on the ropes, but failed to deliver a knockout punch, and several other opportunities befell them to no avail.

Introduction of FIFA under-17 goal king Osimhen by Coach Samson Siasia in the second half suppressed the fledging wings of the Senegalese. His runs on the defence caused anxious moments for the hosts and in the 75th minute under pressure from Osimhen, Senegal defender Ousseynou Thioune collided with his goalkeeper Pape Ndiaye and in the process, a falling Thioune handled the ball. He was given the marching orders by the referee.

The 10 men of Senegal pushed for the equaliser that would have taken the game to penalties but even with five minutes of injury time, they were unable to breakdown the stubborn Nigerian defence.

On the other hand, a 2-0 win over South Africa on Wednesday at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar was enough for Algeria to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 35 years.

Meanwhile, the host Senegal is meeting South Africa for the third and fourth place while Nigeria and Algeria are dueling for the first and second place of U-23 Nations Cup on Saturday 12^th December, 2015 after the both have qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.