Flying Eagles Edge Tunisia in U-20 AFCON Opener
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles started their 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Tunisia on Thursday.
Auwal Ibrahim scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute after being set up by left-back Emmanuel Okoro. The midfielder stayed calm and placed the ball past Tunisian goalkeeper Thomas Zouaghi.
Tunisia began the match strongly and almost scored early on through winger Khalil Ayari, but his shot was blocked by Nigeria’s captain, Daniel Bameyi. From the corner that followed, Omar Ben Ali headed just wide.
Nigeria slowly grew into the game, with striker Kparobo Arierhi getting two good chances before Ibrahim found the breakthrough.
In the second half, Tunisia put Nigeria under pressure but couldn’t find a way past the defence.
Nigeria thought they had a chance to double their lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 71st minute after Rickson Mendos was brought down in the box. However, the referee cancelled the decision after checking VAR.
Coach Aliyu Zubairu and his team will now turn their focus to their next group match against Morocco on Sunday.
