U-20 AFCON: Nigeria qualify for quarter-final despite draw against Kenya

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the quarter-final of the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). 

The Eagles progressed into the knockout stage after a 2-2 draw against Kenya in their final group game at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday.

Following the win against Tunisia and the draw with Morocco in the first two games, Nigeria qualified as second in Group B with five points.

The Kenyans were without a point from their previous game, but they stunned Nigeria a few minutes into the match. Emmanuel Chukwu handled the ball inside the Nigerian goal area, and Kévin Wangaya Injehu made no mistake, converting the resulting penalty to give Kenya the lead.

But the Flying Eagles responded almost immediately. Kparobo Arierhi scored his first goal of the tournament after he was played in by a delicately weighted pass from Israel Ayuma.

The Kenyans took the lead for the second time after the break. The goal came from another dead-ball situation. A free kick was floated into the Nigerian goal area, and an unmarked William Gitamu jabbed the ball into the net off the crossbar.

Less than five minutes later, Nigeria equalised again. Rickson Mendos was brought down in the box, and Nigeria was awarded a penalty. Daniel Bameyi, the team captain, took the responsibility and dispatched the spotkick into the bottom corner.

Nigeria held on for their second draw of the competition. In the other group game, Morocco defeated Tunisia 3-1.

The Flying Eagles will face the runner-up from Group C in the quarter-final on May 12. The team’s opponents could be Senegal, Ghana, the Central African Republic, or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The semi-finalists will qualify automatically for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile.