Nigeria edge Egypt on penalties to claim AFCON U-20 bronze

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By Olaolu Joseph

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles secured third place at the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Egypt 2025 after a dramatic 4-1 penalty shootout win over the host nation on Sunday.

The third-place match, held at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, ended 1-1 in regulation time. The Flying Eagles then held their nerve in the shootout to clinch their fifth U-20 AFCON bronze medal.

Both teams were eager to end their campaigns on a high note after missing out on the final. Osama Omar gave Egypt an early lead in the third minute, but Nigeria responded shortly after halftime with an equaliser from Bidemi Amole.

With no extra time played in third-place matches, the game proceeded directly to penalties. The Flying Eagles converted all four of their kicks, while Egypt missed two.

Emmanuel Chukwu, Ayuma, Arierhi, and Maigana scored for Nigeria, while goalkeeper Abubakar, brought on late in the game, saved attempts from Egyptian captain Kabaka and Atef.

The result marked Nigeria’s 14th top-three finish in U-20 AFCON history and reinforced their strong record against host nations, having also defeated Egypt at the previous edition.

Both teams had already secured qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, set to take place later this year in Chile, alongside South Africa and Morocco, who will contest the final later tonight.