Nigeria booked their place in the quarterfinals of the 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 exits 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.

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

When the Nigeria Flying Eagles line out to face Kenya on Wednesday night, it is not just their last Group C match of the series, it is their 100th match of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.

No other country has grossed up to that in the series. The Flying Eagles are seven-time champions and are hoping for a record-extending eighth win.

They will at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo face off with an already eliminated Kenyan team at 4 pm Nigerian time.  A draw is enough for Nigeria, who need just one point to progress.

But if they win, they could top the group if the potentially dicey encounter of Morocco and Tunisia ends in a draw or a Tunisia victory.

Nigeria’s most recent encounter with East African opposition was a 1-0 win over Uganda in the 2023 quarterfinals.

 Kenya, meanwhile, will be facing West African opponents for the first time at this stage of the competition.

According to statistics released by CAF, Nigeria has the lowest shot conversion rate in Group C at just 6.25%, while Kenya has a rate of 14.29% – the second highest in the group, behind Tunisia (17.65%).

In terms of defensive stats, Nigeria have won 27 tackles, while Kenya leads the group with 34.

Nigeria have kept two clean sheets – the most in the group – while Kenya conceded six goals, three in each of their first two matches.

Kenya leads Group C in shots on target with 11, while Nigeria has managed just seven, tied for the fewest with Tunisia.

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Nigeria began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Tunisia and followed it with a goalless draw against Morocco.

The Flying Eagles are aiming to reach the knockout stages for the ninth consecutive tournament in which they have participated.

Since 1993, when the tournament adopted a single-format structure, Nigeria has progressed beyond the group stage ten times and been eliminated just twice (1993 and 2001).

Their record in final group matches since 1993 reads: Played 12, won 7, drew 2, lost 3.

They have won their final group game in the last two editions they participated in and are unbeaten in their last six final group games (W5 D1).

The only draw in this run came against Côte d’Ivoire in 2022.

 Nigeria last lost their final group game in 2007, a 2-0 defeat to Cameroon.

Despite the loss, they progressed as Group B runners-up behind Zambia.

If Nigeria draw 0-0 and qualifies with only one goal scored, it would mark their lowest goal tally in the group stage since 2001, though unlike that year, they will progress to the knockout stage.

If they avoid defeat, Nigeria will have completed the group stage unbeaten for the eighth time.

This is only the second time, after 2019, that Nigeria have kept clean sheets in both of their opening group games. In 2019, they also went through the entire group stage without conceding a goal.

Nigeria scored just one goal in their first two group matches.

The last time they did this was in 2023, when they lost 1-0 to Senegal, beat Egypt 1-0, and then defeated Mozambique 2-0.

They are currently the lowest-scoring team in their group.

Daniel Barneyi had 75 touches against Morocco – the most by any player in that match.

Nigeria had three shots on target in the game against Morocco but failed to score.

 Goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt has kept two clean sheets, making two saves (both in the opening match against Tunisia). He did not face a shot on target in the draw against Morocco.

Nigeria is one of only two teams yet to concede at the tournament, the other being Zambia, which has played one more game.

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