AFCON U-20: Nigeria’s Flying Eagles beat Tunisia to win bronze medal

The Nigeria U-20 national football team has ended their campaign at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-20 tournament with an impressive 4-0 victory over Tunisia.

Having been denied a chance for an unprecedented eight title by Gambia, the Flying Eagles came with full force in Friday’s third-place tie and simply blew the North Africans away.

Fiery start

Ibrahim Muhammed gave the Flying Eagles an early lead, scoring the opening goal just nine minutes into the game.

The Tunisians after the early setback kept the Flying Eagles at bay for the remainder of the first half.

However, Ahmed Abdullahi made it 2-0 in Nigeria’s favour shortly after the half-time break.

In the 49th minute, Jude Sunday joined the scoring spree with a fantastic solo goal to extend the Flying Eagles’ lead to 3-0.

The young midfielder put the icing on the cake with another sumptuous finish during the stoppage time to effectively seal Nigeria’s emphatic 4-0 victory.

Coach Ladan Bosso’s boys saved the best for last as this was their biggest win at the tournament in Egypt.

While Nigeria already are the record champion with eight titles, Friday’s victory also sealed the country’s place as the nation with the most Afcon U20 bronze medals in history.

Before now, Nigeria finished in third place in the 1995, 2009, and 2013 editions of the U20 Afcon.

Having ended their campaign on a high, the Flying Eagles will hope to get it right as they shift their attention towards the FIFA U20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Indonesia between 20 May and 11 June 2023.

Senegal and Gambia, the only two teams that defeated Nigeria’s Flying Eagles at this year’s AFCON U-20 tournament will be squaring it up in the final.

The two teams have been formidable; winning all their matches without conceding any goal in the process.

Minister commends Flying Eagles

Meanwhile, The Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, has commended the Flying Eagles for their third-place finish.

Describing the bronze medal as better than nothing, the Minister charged the team to put to good use the lessons learnt at the tournament as they prepare for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia in May.

“We were disappointed we couldn’t play in the final or win this competition as we planned to but this convincing victory over Tunisia today(Friday) has redeemed some of the pain we felt last Monday after the Gambia game. A bronze medal is better than nothing.

“Now we have to also focus on doing a lot better at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia in May. There is very little time left but I believe the coaches now know where their focus should be in improving the team,” Mr Dare added.