Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will kick off their quest for an eighth Africa U20 Cup of Nations title on Thursday when they face Tunisia’s Junior Carthage Eagles at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo. This Group B opener marks the beginning of what promises to be a competitive tournament.
The two nations share a bit of history in the tournament. Forty years ago, Nigeria claimed their second continental title after edging past Tunisia over two legs. With both teams already qualified for the FIFA World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup) in the former USSR, Nigeria drew 1-1 in Tunis before clinching a 2-1 victory in Lagos.
More recently, in the 2023 edition of the U20 AFCON—also hosted in Egypt—Nigeria thrashed Tunisia 4-0 in the third-place match, a result that still lingers in memory.
Head Coach Aliyu Zubairu knows his team must remain focused and take it one game at a time. With defending champions Senegal (Group C), hosts Egypt (Group A), and four-time winners Ghana (Group C) all vying for the title, the competition will be intense.
Egypt have already made a strong start, earning three points with a win over South Africa. Zambia and Sierra Leone, meanwhile, shared the spoils in a goalless draw. Over in Group C, Ghana face a tough path with Senegal, Central African Republic (who ousted Cameroon), and DR Congo in the mix.
Nigeria will need to be wary of the hosts despite their past success—most notably a 1-0 group-stage win over Egypt two years ago in Cairo. Historically, the Flying Eagles have only lost tournament finals to host nations—against Ghana in 1999 and Congo in 2007. However, they famously beat Senegal in the 2015 final on Senegalese soil.
After facing Tunisia, Nigeria will next meet Morocco, who won the tournament as hosts in 1997.
Coach Zubairu is optimistic following a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Egypt in a friendly earlier this week, just two days after arriving in Cairo.
“That result has given us great momentum ahead of our opener against Tunisia,” Zubairu said. “It’s the kind of boost you need heading into a big competition. We’re not taking anything for granted—we’ll push for all three points and build from there.”
Key players to watch include Kparobo Arierhi, who bagged three goals at the WAFU B U20 Championship and opened the scoring against Egypt; Germany-based Precious Benjamin; and homegrown talents Clinton Jephta and Divine Oliseh.
Tunisia’s place in the tournament came unexpectedly, after original hosts Côte d’Ivoire withdrew just weeks before the event, allowing the North Africans to take their spot.
The top four teams from this tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, scheduled for 27 September to 19 October.
