Nigeria’s U-20 men’s football national team, the Flying Eagles, on Sunday evening at the June 30 stadium in Cairo, claimed third place in the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, reports The Standard Gazette.
The seven-time African champions were beaten 1-0 by South Africa in the semifinals on Thursday.
First-choice goalkeeper for Nigeria, Ebenezer Ifeanyi Harcourt, was sidelined due to an injury he picked up during Nigeria’s 1-0 semifinal defeat to South Africa.
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Centre back Odinaka Okoro missed the fixture after receiving a second yellow card in the same match, resulting in an automatic suspension.
The game ended 1-1 in 90 minutes and required a penalty shootout to determine the third-placed side and bronze medalists.
Egypt scored first in the game, pounced on a sloppy defensive move by the Nigerian backline in the first half.
Egyptian goalkeeper Ahmed Waheb was impressive as the Nigerians toiled to break his elastic saves.
The Flying Eagles, however, came into the second half keen to cancel the lead, and Bidemi Amole, who had an average game in the semifinals, redeemed himself as he grabbed the equaliser.
The goal was Nigeria’s fourth in the tournament, which serves as a qualifiers to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
The Eagles had 27 shots in total, with none of them on target in regulation time.
In the penalty kicks that followed, Emmanuel Chukwu, Israel Ayuma, Kparobo Arierhi and Tahir Maigana converted their kicks.
In the penalty shootout, Nigeria’s goalkeeper, on the day Rufai Abubakar was introduced in the fourth minute of stoppage time and saved two kicks.
All four semifinalists have booked their spots in the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The final of the tournament is between South Africa and Morocco at the same venue.
Both sides have been the best teams of the tournament, signifying a giant leap in their youth development.
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