The Flying Eagles of Nigeria clinched third place at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2025 with a thrilling 4-1 triumph in a penalty shootout against hosts Egypt on Sunday.
The bronze medal encounter, staged at Cairo’s 30 June Stadium, ended 1-1 in regulation time, and with no extra-time provision for the third-place playoff, the tie went straight to spot kicks, where Nigeria held their nerve to grab a fifth U-20 AFCON bronze.
Both nations were determined to close their campaign on a positive note, having missed out on a place in the final.
Egypt struck early, igniting the home crowd just three minutes in. Osama Omar finished clinically from close range after connecting with a clever cut-back from Mahmoud Labib.
Unshaken by the early deficit, Nigeria grew into the contest, asserting control and dominating possession.
The Flying Eagles carved out multiple chances, with Clinton Jephta and Precious Benjamin testing Egyptian goalkeeper Abdel Monem Tamer, while Israel Ayuma came close with a pair of long-range efforts.
Nigeria’s equalizer arrived swiftly after the interval. Divine Oliseh split the Egyptian defense with a sublime pass to Bidemi Amole, who made no mistake in the 47th minute, slotting home coolly.
With momentum on their side, Nigeria introduced fresh legs—Tahir Maigana and Kparobo Arierhi adding renewed vigor to their push for a winner.
Still, it was Egypt who came closest to snatching a dramatic victory, as Mohamed El Sayed’s thunderous shot clipped the crossbar and Mohamed Haitham struck the post deep into stoppage time.
Unable to separate the sides after 90 minutes, the contest headed to penalties.
The Flying Eagles showed supreme composure from the spot, converting all four of their efforts through Emmanuel Chukwu, Ayuma, Arierhi, and Maigana.
Egypt, on the other hand, crumbled under pressure. Mohamed Atef and Ahmed Kabaka were both denied by Nigeria’s standout 15-year-old goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt, who turned in a performance well beyond his age.
The result handed Nigeria their 14th podium finish in U-20 AFCON history and continued their impressive trend of triumphing over host nations, beating Egypt on their own turf for the second straight edition.