Ebenezer Harcourt saves two penalties as Nigeria defeat Senegal 3-1 on penalties
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the 2025 U-20 World Cup.
Ebenezer Harcourt saved two penalties to help Nigeria defeat Senegal 3-1 in a shootout in their U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final clash at the Suez Canal stadium in Egypt on Monday.
The match had ended goalless after normal time and another 30 minutes of extra time.
Both sides struggled with their passes in the final third throughout the entire 120 minutes, and few big chances were created between them.
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However, Harcourt was Nigeria’s hero in a penalty shootout. The Sporting Lagos goalkeeper dived low and struck out his leg to stop Senegal’s first kick by Pierre Dorival.
Precious Benjamin and Emmanuel Chukwu scored for Nigeria, and Seydi Diouck pulled one in for Senegal.
Harcourt returned to the post and made another penalty save from Mame Faye. After Israel Ayuma scored Nigeria’s third penalty.
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Harcourt was then able to intimidate Ousmane Konate to spike Senegal’s fourth penalty onto the crossbar.
Nigeria qualified for the semi-final of the U-20 AFCON and will play either South Africa or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nigeria will also be playing at the U-20 World Cup for the 14th time. The Flying Eagles were defeated by South Korea in the last edition’s quarter-final.
The 2025 U-20 World Cup will be held in Chile between September and October 19.
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