Flying Eagles to Face Senegal in U20 AFCON Quarter-Finals
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will take on defending champions Senegal in the quarter-finals of the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, after the final group games were played in Egypt.
Senegal qualified as runners-up in Group C after a 2-0 win against DR Congo on Thursday evening. Cheikh Thiam scored early, and Ibrahima Dieng added a late penalty to push the Young Teranga Lions into second place on goal difference, with the same points as DR Congo.
Ghana finished top of the group after a 1-0 win over the Central African Republic. That result meant Ghana avoided a quarter-final match against their long-time rivals, Nigeria.
Instead, Senegal will now face Nigeria, the most successful team in U20 AFCON history with seven titles. The Flying Eagles finished second in Group B with five points after drawing 2-2 with Kenya in their last match – which was also their 100th game in the competition.
In that match, Kenya scored first through a penalty by Kevin Injehu after a handball by Emmanuel Chukwu. Nigeria equalised in the 13th minute when Kparobo Arierhi scored after a clever pass from Simon Cletus.
Kenya regained the lead in the second half with a goal from William Gitama. But Nigeria hit back again, as captain Daniel Bameyi scored a penalty four minutes later after Rickson Mendos was fouled.
Goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt made two important saves to keep Nigeria in the game, and the draw helped them reach the knockout stage for the tenth time in their last twelve appearances.
The Flying Eagles remain unbeaten in Egypt but have only scored three goals in three matches. They will need to improve their attacking play when they face Senegal at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia on Monday.
