Nigeria and Egypt are set to take to the pitch to battle for the bronze medal at the 30 June Air Defence Stadium in Cairo for the third-place match of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports.
This comes after Aliyu Zubairu's boys could not keep their nets closed against South Africa's Tylon Smith, who scored the only goal to secure their place in the final.
Nigeria already secured the ticket to participate in the 2025 U-20 World Cup tournament in Chile after progressing to the semis, but a bronze medal is now seen as compensation for their efforts in the campaign.
Both teams had been tipped to reach the final, but football’s unpredictability played its part. Instead of the grand finale, they now face off in the losers’ final.
One last battle.
The Bronze is still up for grabs. #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/GzEMSkCK7m
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) May 16, 2025
A Familiar Stage for Bronze
For Nigeria’s Flying Eagles, playing for bronze is hardly unfamiliar territory. The seven-time African champions—with titles in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, and 2015—will now compete for third place for the fifth time in the competition’s history.
Their track record in bronze medal matches has been impressive. In 1995, when Nigeria hosted the tournament, the Flying Eagles bounced back from a semi-final loss to Cameroon by edging Mali 1-0 in Lagos to clinch bronze.
They repeated the feat in 2009 in Rwanda, where a Haruna Lukman-led team overcame South Africa’s Amajita 2-1.
Egypt’s Own Chapter
Egypt, too, have history on their side. This will be their fourth appearance in the third-place match, having secured bronze three times previously. As hosts the Young Pharaohs will be eager to impress on home soil once again, even if it’s not in the final.
