Nigeria’s Under 20 football team, the Flying Eagles will face a tough challenge at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, after being drawn into Group B alongside Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco in what has been described as the tournament’s ‘group of death.’
Hosts Cote d’Ivoire will be up against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and a yet-to-be-identified team from the Central Africa region in Group A.
Champions Senegal are in Group C with Zambia and Sierra Leone.
The teams are divided into three groups (A, B and C), with Group A containing five teams and Groups B and C four sides each.
The competition, scheduled to take place in Ivory Coast from April 26 to May 18, will see 13 teams battle for the continental title and 4 spots at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile later this year.
CAF’s tournament format means that the top two teams from each of the three groups will advance to the knockout stage, alongside the two best third-placed teams. Qualification for the semi-finals will guarantee progress to the World Cup.
Between them, the Flying Eagles’ group stage opponents have five U-20 AFCON titles. Egypt with four and Morocco with one. South Africa, the only team in the group yet to rule Africa at that age grade, have nevertheless achieved podium finish twice.
Before the draw, Nigeria had been scheduled to face Egypt’s U-20 team in back-to-back friendlies on February 25 and 27 in Cairo. However, with both teams now set to meet in the group stage, it remains unclear if those matches will still go ahead.
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If they proceed as planned, the games will serve as crucial preparation for Nigeria, which aims to fine-tune their squad ahead of the tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.
The Flying Eagles remain the most successful team in U-20 AFCON history, having won the tournament a record seven times but have 13 podium finishes. Their dominance is reflected in their overall tournament statistics:
Games played: 97
Wins: 56
Draws: 14
Losses: 27
Goals scored: 151
Goals conceded: 90
Flying Eagles’ U-20 AFCON titles and finishes
1983 – Champions
1985 – Champions
1987 – Champions
1989 – Champions
1995 – Third place
1999 – Runners-up
2005 – Champions
2007 – Runners-up
2009 – Third place
2011 – Champions
2013 – Third place
2015 – Champions
2023 – Third place
The Aliyu Zubairu’s squad will be hoping to secure a record-extending eighth U-20 title while also booking a return to the global stage.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
