Defending champion Nigeria U20 team began their title defence on a faltering note as the Coach John Obuh boys fell 1-0 to the Young Eagles of Mali on the second day of matches.

It was the opening match of Group B of the 2013 Africa Youth Championships taking place in Algeria.

The competition also serves as qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup which will hold later this year.

Nigeria dominated play for most of the match but poor finishing robbed the champions of goals.