2025 U-20 AFCON: Flying Eagles Edge Egypt in Warm-Up Match

Tuesday’s friendly encounter at Cairo International Stadium saw the Nigerian Flying Eagles defeat Egypt’s Young Pharaohs 2-1 after a fierce battle.
For both teams, the game was an essential component of their preparations for the 2025 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations.
The Flying Eagles had a strong start to the match, with forward Kparobo Arierhi having an instant influence.
Using excellent positioning and talent, he scored the first goal in the tenth minute after latching onto a perfectly weighted ball from Bidemi Amole.

The goal from Arierhi gave the game a lively tempo and demonstrated the Flying Eagles’ confidence after their recent victory in the WAFU B title.

But the Young Pharaohs reacted resolutely. In the 65th minute, Ahmed Kaabaka capitalized on a defensive blunder by Nigeria to score the equalizer.

The suspense increased as the game got closer to its conclusion. When Divine Oliseh was fouled in the box and Precious Benjamin was given a penalty in the 83rd minute, Nigeria took the lead again.

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To the joy of both their coaching staff and supporters, Benjamin maintained his calm under duress by accurately converting the spot-kick and regaining Nigeria’s advantage.

Nigeria, who have won the Africa Under-20 title seven times, will be encouraged by this victory, which also comes at a crucial moment as the team is traveling to Cairo less than 48 hours prior to the game. The Flying Eagles will now concentrate on the forthcoming event, which begins on Sunday, after this victory.

Nigeria’s Group B campaign will start next Thursday against Tunisia, and then they have difficult matches against Morocco and Kenya.

Aiming for victory at home, hosts Egypt, who are in Group A, will play South Africa to begin the tournament before playing Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Tanzania.