Nigeria beat Congo in Olympic qualifier….

Nigeria edged closer towards qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics with a 2-1 victory over Congo Brazzaville in Port Harcourt. It was sweet revenge for Nigeria whose senior side lost 3-2 to Claude Le Roy’s Congo last year in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier – a result which ultimately denied the Super Eagles a place at the finals and a chance to defend their title. Nigeria boast a proud Olympics football record, having won gold medals at the Atlanta Games in 1996. They also finished runners-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where current Nigeria under-23 coach Samson Siasia (pictured) also coached the ‘Dream Team’ in China. On Sunday, it was Junior Ajayi who proved to be Siasia’s match winner, scoring both goals just after half-time, in front of 35,000 home fans. Le Roy’s Congo pulled one back in the 68th minute – but Nigeria held on to seize the first leg advantage in the under-23 level third-round qualifier. The return match is scheduled for early August and the overall winners qualify for an end-of-year tournament in Senegal from which the top three teams out of eight go to Rio.

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