Nigeria’s Flying Eagles kicked off their U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a hard-fought win, defeating Tunisia’s Junior Carthage Eagles 1-0 in their opening match at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.
The Flying Eagles came into the match determined to begin their campaign positively and build on their impressive record in AFCON openers, having secured victory in seven of their previous ten opening games.
Despite a slow start to the game, the Flying Eagles eventually took the lead in the 37th minute with a superb finish from Auwal Ibrahim, converting Odinaka Okoro’s assist to give the team a crucial advantage going into half-time.
In an attempt to seal the victory, Flying Eagles head coach Aliyu Zubairu made a double change in the 67th minute, bringing on Yushau Armiyau and Theophilus Mendos Rickson for Divine Oliseh and Bidemi Amole.
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Rickson quickly made his presence felt by winning a penalty after being brought down inside the box. However, VAR overturned the decision, ruling that the contact was insufficient.
In a last-ditch effort to salvage the game, Tunisia launched a late charge, but were thwarted by a determined Nigerian defense and goalkeeper Ifeanyi Harcourt, who stood strong to secure all three points for Nigeria.
The hard-earned victory puts Nigeria at the top of Group B for the time being, pending the outcome of Kenya’s clash with Morocco later today.
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will now aim for back-to-back wins and a possible spot in the quarter-finals when they take on Morocco at the 30 June Stadium on Sunday, May 4. On the other hand, Tunisia will be eager to bounce back when they go up against Kenya in their second group game.
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