Injured Ebenezer Harcourt to Miss Flying Eagles’ Third-Place Match Against Egypt
Flying Eagles first-choice goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt will not play in Sunday’s third-place match at the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations against hosts Egypt.
The 15-year-old Sporting Lagos Academy goalkeeper picked up a knee injury during Nigeria’s 1-0 semi-final loss to South Africa on Thursday, 15 May. He missed the team’s final training session on Saturday and has been ruled out of the game.
Harcourt has been one of the standout performers at the tournament. Despite being the youngest player at the competition, he impressed many with his calm and confident displays in goal. He kept three clean sheets in five matches and had not conceded in the semi-final before he was taken off in the 51st minute due to the injury.
His replacement, Ajia Yakub, was criticised for failing to deal with a cross that led to South Africa’s winning goal, headed in by defender Tylon Smith. Some fans believe the goal might have been avoided if Harcourt had stayed on.
With Harcourt unavailable, head coach Aliyu Zubairu must now decide whether to keep faith with Yakub or give a debut to Rufai Abubakar of Mavlon FC.
Nigeria will face Egypt at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, with both teams hoping to end their tournament on a positive note.
