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Egypt 2025: Flying Eagles win bronze medals

Posted : 19 May 2025

For the fourth time in the history of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria finished in third place, as a penalty shootout once again proved to be a sure route to glory on Sunday night, with hosts Egypt falling victim at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.


Victory in the shootout against Cup holders Senegal in the quarter-finals in Ismailia had earned seven-time champions Nigeria a ticket to this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Chile, and it proved handy again after regulation time ended with a goal apiece in the classification encounter.


Osama Hassan put the Young Pharaohs ahead after only 165 seconds of play, when a long ball from the back by Abdullah Boustenji found Mahmoud Hemida, who spun and passed the ball into the path of Omar Hassan, who fired it into the roof of the net, giving goalkeeper Ajia Yakub no chance.


The goal brought out the fighting spirit in the Nigerian team, and Clinton Jephta, Precious Benjamin, Sulyman Alabi, and Ezekiel Kpangu combined to mount a series of attacks on the Egyptian backline.


The Flying Eagles equalized less than two minutes into the second half, when energetic wing-back Adamu Maigari dispossessed a sloppy Mohamed Saadoun and found substitute Divine Oliseh, who then set up the onrushing substitute Bidemi Amole to blast the ball into the net.


Oliseh, Alabi, Ayuma, and substitute Tahir Maigana had chances to score a winner for Nigeria, but goalkeeper Ahmed Waheb was in fine form.


Nigeria dodged a bullet in stoppage time of the second half, when a prolonged melee in the box saw the ball hit a defender once, the crossbar once, and then glance off the upright before going out of play.


However, goalkeeper Waheb had no answer to the Nigerian youngsters in the shootout, as Emmanuel Chukwu, Israel Ayuma, Kparobo Arierhi, and Tahir Maigana, in that order, converted all their kicks, while two of Egypt’s three kicks were saved by substitute goalkeeper Rufai Abubakar.


The Flying Eagles also won bronze medals when Nigeria hosted the finals in 1995, and again in 2009 in Rwanda and 2013 in Algeria.

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