Izuchukwu OkosiNigeria’s Flying Eagles on Sunday at the June 30 stadium in Cairo beat host nation, Egypt 4-1 on penalties to win the third place match in the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
The seven-time African champions were beaten 1-0 by South Africa in the semifinals on Thursday.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrime Business Africa here presents the Flying Eagles players’ ratings from the game.
Goalkeeper: Aliyu Yakub
Yakub was in action in the semifinals versus South Africa and was called to duty in the absence of the injured Ifeanyi Harcourt.
Played in regulation time but subbed off for the shootout. Impressive showing. 6/10.
Defender: Adamu Maigari
The left back made recovery runs after surging forward in tandem with his primary defensive duties. 7/10.
Defender: Daniel Bameyi
The captain led from the back impressively. His defensive performances is deserving of all the attention from big European clubs. 8/10.
Defender: Emmanuel Chukwu
The right back had a mixed bag of performances in the tournament. Sunday’s was not one of his best in Egypt but he has shown great potentials. 6/10.
Midfielder: Auwal Ibrahim
The former U-17 youngster screened the backline from his midfield position efficiently. 7/10.
Midfielder: Suleiman Alabi
Struggled in midfield and did not improve from his sub par performance in the semifinals. 5/10.
Midfielder: Israel Ayuma
Ayuma was one of the best players for the Nigerian side in the tournament.
Ayuma created a couple of chances from midfield.7/10.
Midfielder: Clinton Japhet
Subbed off at the break albeit showed flashes of brilliance in the first half. 5/10.
Attacker: Precious Benjamin
Benjamin was a nightmare for the Egyptian defence with his pace and trickery. Subbed off in the second half. 7/10.
Attacker: Yushau Armiyau
Able to play in wing backs and forward positions, the Eagle was strong and covered blades of the pitch as he supported in defending. 6.5/10.
Attacker: Ezekiel Kpangu
Had an average game against Egypt and was subbed off in the second half. 5/10.
The Substitutes
Bidemi Amole
Scored the equaliser when he came into the game in the second half and was effective in defending against the hosts. 7/10.
Divine Oliseh
Was brought in to replace Yushau Armiyau and was a threat down with breaking the lines. 7/10.
Tahir Maigana
Showed great composure when he came into the game. 5.5/10.
Kparobo Arierhi
The team’s top striker was introduced from the bench and his quality told but was unable to score a winning goal before the shootouts. 7/10.
Rufai Abubakar
The goalkeeper on the day saved two kicks in the shootout. The MVP of the game. 8/10.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
