AFCON U20: Player ratings – How the Flying Eagles fared against Kenya

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo, Egypt after battling out a pulsating 2-2 draw against Kenya on Wednesday, Footynaija.com reports.

The game four goals split evenly between the two halves as Kenya took a sixth minute lead from the penalty spot before Nigeria’s swift response through Kparobo Areirhi just seven minutes later.

Aliyu Zubairu’s boys found themselves behind again in the 68th minute of the second half but another quick reaction saw the Flying Eagles win a penalty which team captain Daniel Bameyi stepped up and coolly converted in the 73rd minute.

Footynaija.com takes a look at how individual Nigerian players performed during the game.

GK – Ebenezer Harcourt: 6.0

Another decent performance between the sticks for Harcourt at the 30 June Air Defense Stadium. There wasn’t much he could have done about the two goals Nigeria conceded today.

LB – Odinaka Okoro: 6.5

The ever impressive Okoro was once again a delight to watch against Kenya. His contributions in both attack and defense played a vital role for the Flying Eagles in today’s game.

CB – Emmanuel Chukwu: 6.5

Chukwu shrugged off his early mistake which led to Kenya’s penalty to deliver another commanding performance for Zubairu’s charges at the heart of defense.

CB – Daniel Bameyi: 6.8 

Bameyi barley put a foot wrong all game. Vocal in the organization of Nigeria’s defense and dominant in his 1v1 duels, he delivered another captain’s performance capped with a goal from the penalty spot.

RB – Adamu Maigari: 5.8

Maigari struggled to curtail Kenya’s attacking threats down that right-hand side of Nigeria’s defensive third. He also could not impact the game higher up the pitch.

DM – Auwal Ibrahim: 6.5

Ibrahim pulled the strings for Nigeria from deep in the middle of the park as Nigeria dominated possession throughout the game. However, he was unable to provide that cutting edge we saw during Nigeria’s opening game of the competition.

CM – Israel Ayuma: 5.8

Ayuma, unlike his midfield partner, struggled to have much of an influence on the game. In a pretty average appearance, he gave the ball away in dangerous areas on a couple of occasions and made some really poor decisions on the attacking end of the pitch.

AM – Simon Cletus: 6.5

Cletus was making his first appearance in the tournament and the 17-year-old rewarded his manager’s faith by providing a sublime assist for Areirhi’s first half equalizer.

LW – Clinton Jephta: 6.0

The 18-year-old Enyimba international star showed glimpses of his immense talent but he was unable to have as much of an impact as he did in the Flying Eagles’ tournament opener.

RW – Ezekiel Kpangu: 5.6

Kpangu popped up all over the pitch while he was on but the 19-year-old attacker struggled to provide any real attacking impetus for the Flying Eagles down that right-hand side of attack.

CF – Kparobo Areirhi: 6.8

Areirhi was a lively presence up front for the Flying Eagles in today’s game. Having been left out of the starting XI last time out, the young striker marked his return with a fine goal to restore parity for Nigeria inside the first 15 minutes.

Substitutes 

Rickson Mendos: 6.0

Rickson replaced Kpangu after the hour mark and made a significant impact on the game ten minutes later as he won the penalty that skipper Bameyi converted to tie the scoreline at 2-2.

Suleiman Alabi: 5.8

Alabi came on for Ibrahim after that hour mark and picked up from where his teammate left off in terms of dictating the play in midfield.

Michael Ejiofor: 5.8

Ejiofor played his first minutes of the tournament after replacing an apparently exhausted Maigari in the 63rd minute. He gave a decent account of himself in that time, proving a very capable presence in defence.

Divine Oliseh: 5.5

Oliseh was full of endeavour after coming on in place of Cletus with less than 15 minutes to play. He spurned a golden opportunity to snatch the win for Nigeria late in the game.

Tahir Maigana: 5.5

Maigana entered the fray the same time as Oliseh, replacing the electric Jephta for the last 15 minutes of the game. Like Oliseh, the 16-year-old also got goal sight but was unable to find the back of the net.