Nigeria booked their place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Kenya at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Wednesday.
The result, coupled with Morocco’s 3-1 win over Tunisia in the simultaneous Group B fixture, means Nigeria finish second in the group with five points, while Kenya exit the tournament with just one point from three matches.
Despite already being eliminated before kick-off, Kenya put up a spirited performance and twice took the lead, only to be pegged back each time by the more experienced Nigerians.
Kevin Injehu gave the East Africans a dream start when he calmly slotted home a sixth-minute penalty after Emmanuel Chukwu was penalised for a handball inside the box following a VAR review.
Nigeria responded swiftly, and Kparobo Arierhi restored parity in the 13th minute with a composed finish from close range after latching onto Simon Cletus’ through ball.
Both sides continued to create chances, and Kenya stunned the Nigerians again midway through the second half when substitute William Gitama finished off a well-worked set-piece in the 68th minute to make it 2-1.
But their joy was short-lived. Just five minutes later, captain Daniel Bameyi converted a penalty after Rickson Mendos was fouled in the area by Lawrence Ouma, drawing Nigeria level once more.
Nigeria pushed for a winner in the closing stages, with Divine Oliseh and Tahir Maigana both going close, but Kenya’s defence held firm.
The West Africans, who had kept two clean sheets in their previous games, were made to work harder than expected by a Kenyan side that showed attacking intent throughout the match.
Kenya’s exit is confirmed after picking up only one point from three games, despite scoring in all three matches.
With the group stage now concluded, Morocco top Group B with seven points, followed by Nigeria (5), Tunisia (3), and Kenya (1).
Nigeria will now shift focus to the quarter-finals, where they will face a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent from another group.
