Nigeria secured third place in the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2025 after winning an eye-catching penalty shootout 4-1 against the host team, Egypt, on Sunday.
The third-place match at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo ended in a tie at 1-1 after 90 minutes, leading to penalties where Nigeria kept their cool to claim their fifth bronze medal in U-20 AFCON history.
This victory marked Nigeria’s fifth bronze medal and their 14th top-three finish in U-20 AFCON history. It also continued their good record against host teams, as they beat Egypt for the second consecutive tournament.
Egypt, on the other hand, could not keep their perfect record in third-place matches and conceded their first goal at this stage.
Egypt started strong, scoring in the third minute with a goal from Osama Omar. Nigeria equalized early in the second half when Bidemi Amole scored.
The match went straight to penalties without extra time. Nigeria scored all four of their penalty kicks, while Egypt missed two.
Egypt’s early goal pressured Nigeria, but Nigeria soon took control, creating several chances. Clinton Jephta and Precious Benjamin both tested goalkeeper Abdel Monem Tamer, while Israel Ayuma missed with long shots.
Two minutes into the second half, Nigeria equalized when Divine Oliseh passed to Amole, who scored. Nigeria pushed for a winner, with substitutes Tahir Maigana and Kparobo Arierhi boosting the attack. Egypt almost clinched victory in stoppage time, hitting the bar and post.
With a 1-1 draw at the end of regular time, the match went to penalties. Nigeria scored all four of their penalties, while Egypt’s Mohamed Atef and Ahmed Kabaka had their shots saved by 15-year-old goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt.
