The Flying Eagles of Nigeria finished third place at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2025 with a dramatic 4-1 victory in a penalty shootout against hosts, Egypt, on Sunday.
The third-place clash, held at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.
With no extra time in the third place match, the match was decided on penalties, where the Flying Eagles showed their mentality to claim their fifth bronze medal in U-20 AFCON history.
Both teams were eager to finish the tournament on a high note after falling short of a place in the final.
Egypt started brightly, taking the lead just three minutes in when Osama Omar pounced on a cut-back from Mahmoud Labib to fire home from close range.
Despite the early goal conceded, the Flying found their way back into the game and at a point began dominating possession.
A well-weighted pass from Divine Oliseh cut through Egypt’s defence and found Bidemi Amole, who calmly scored the equaliser in the 47th minute.
The Flying Eagles continued to press for a winner, injecting fresh energy with the introduction of Tahir Maigana and Kparobo Arierhi.
Egypt, however, nearly snatched victory in added time, with Mohamed El Sayed rattling the crossbar and Mohamed Haitham striking the post in a tense finale.
With the scoreline unchanged after 90 minutes, the match headed straight into penalties.Nigeria were perfect from the spot, converting all four of their kicks through Emmanuel Chukwu, Ayuma, Arierhi, and Maigana.
Egypt faltered under pressure, with Mohamed Atef and Ahmed Kabaka both denied by Nigeria’s 3rd choice goalkeeper, Abubakar Rufai, who delivered a match winning performance after coming on for Ajia Yakubu who started the game in Ebenezar Harcourt’s absence.