Nigeria booked their place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations after a tense 2-2 draw with Kenya at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Wednesday evening.
The result, paired with Morocco’s 3-1 win over Tunisia in the simultaneous Group B clash, sees Nigeria finish second in the group with five points.
Morocco top the group with seven points, while Tunisia and Kenya bow out with three and one point respectively.
Despite having nothing to lose, Kenya put on a spirited display and twice took the lead against a more experienced Flying Eagles side.
Kevin Injehu opened the scoring in the 6th minute, converting from the spot after a VAR check penalized Emmanuel Chukwu for a handball inside the area.
Nigeria responded quickly as Kparobo Arierhi latched onto a clever through ball from Simon Cletus and finished calmly in the 13th minute to level the tie.
The game remained lively with both sides creating chances, but it was Kenya who struck next. Substitute William Gitama made it 2-1 in the 68th minute, finishing off a smartly executed set-piece that momentarily stunned the Nigerian bench.
But just five minutes later, the Flying Eagles found another reply. Captain Daniel Bameyi stepped up to convert from the spot in the 73rd minute after Rickson Mendos was brought down in the box by Lawrence Ouma.
Nigeria pressed for a late winner with efforts from Divine Oliseh and Tahir Maigana, but Kenya’s defense stood resolute to earn a point from their final match.
Despite their early exit, the East Africans earned praise for their attacking intent, having scored in all three of their group fixtures.
The Flying Eagles, who had not conceded in their previous two matches, were made to work hard for their place in the last eight and will now await confirmation of their quarterfinal opponent from another group.
