- The Nigeria national U23 team is the first African side to win an Olympic gold medal, riding to glory in Atlanta in 1996
Nigeria are through to the third round of the u23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series after beating Tanzania U23 2-0 on Saturday (3-1 on aggregate) in Ibadan.
After holding the Tanzanians to a 1-1 draw away from home last week, the Nigeria U23 team knew they needed a win against the East Africans to advance to the next phase of the qualifiers.
But there was no breakthrough for coach Salisu Yusuf's men in the first half of the encounter inside the Adamasingba Stadium.
The 1996 Olympic gold medalists finally found a way for Timileyin Ogunniyi to net the opening goal in the 62nd minute.
Nigeria doubled their advantage seven minutes later when Success Makanjuola converted from the penalty spot for the goal that sealed the win.
The Dream Team will face Guinea U23 national team over two legs in the third qualifying round next year.
Nigeria will host the first leg on March 20 before making the trip to Conakry for the return fixture the following weekend.
The winner of that matchup will book a spot at next year's Africa u23 Cup of Nations to be hosted by Morocco.
Only the top three teams at that tournament will qualify for the next Olympic Games in France in 2024.
In six previous appearances at the Olympic games, the Nigeria Dream Team won gold in 1996, silver in 2008 and bronze in 2016.
