Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Sunday got off to a flying start at the AFCON U-17 championship, defeating hard-fighting hosts, Tanzania, 5-4.

Nigeria is making a ninth appearance since the birth of the cadet continental championship in 1995 but they are only searching for their third continental title.

The Golden Eaglets have two titles (2001 & 2007) just as archrivals Ghana and Gambia.

Nigeria have been runners up twice with the last being at the 2013 finals held in Morocco when the current coach, Manu Garba, blooded the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City and Isaac Success of Watford, amongst others.

Garba has forever been part of the Nigeria U-17 set up since the early 2000s and was an assistant to the late coach Yemi Tella when the Golden Eaglets did the double by winning their second title in Togo en route to global acclaim in South Korea in 2007.