It was a sweet revenge for Flying Eagles on Tuesday at the ongoing 12th Africa Games in Morocco as the Paul Aigbogun tutored side took a pound of flesh from their Malian counterparts to hit the finals of the football event, The Nation report.
The two teams had played out a barren draw in Rabat at the end of regulation time and extra time forcing the encounter into penalties.
The Nigerian lads apparently not ready to allow thunder strike twice in one place held their nerves to convert all their five kicks while the Malians failed to convert the last kick thus handing the Nigerian lads a 5-4 victory.
The encounter which was watched by lots of soccer enthusiasts who agreed that the boys on the pitch gave a good account of themselves, looked like a replica of what transpired at the Africa Under 20 Nations cup played earlier this year in Niger, where Mali edged out Nigeria 4-3 on penalty to qualify for the finals
There were permutations that the battle of Rabat would have ended without heading for penalty if Flying Eagles captain Abubakar Ibrahim had buried a penalty awarded to the team after Success Makanjuola was fouled in the 21st minute of the match.
Nigeria last won football Gold at the 1973 games, which she hosted.
Nigeria will battle the winner of the second semifinal tie between Senegal and Burkina Faso in Friday Final, while Mali will play in the third place match on Thursday.
