Nigeria’s Flying Eagles fell short of the 18th Africa U20 Cup of Nations final, losing 1-0 to a resilient South African Amajita side in a tense semi-final clash on Thursday.
The seven-time champions, despite dominating with intensity, lacked composure in attack and were undone by a second-half header from defender Tylon Smith, consigning them to the third-place playoff on Sunday.
The Flying Eagles started aggressively, creating multiple chances but failing to convert. In the 22nd minute, forward Kparobo Arierhi missed a teasing cross from Clinton Jephta, and eight minutes later, he fired wide from six yards with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Amajita’s first real chance came on 33 minutes when Thabang Mahlangu nearly capitalized on a fumble by Nigerian goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt, but captain Daniel Bameyi cleared the danger.
Arierhi remained a threat but squandered further opportunities, blasting over in the 37th minute and seeing a shot deflected after outpacing his marker. Nigeria’s fortunes worsened when Harcourt was forced off injured on the hour mark. His replacement, Ajia Yakub, struggled, nearly gifting Amajita a goal before Smith capitalized on Yakub’s misjudgment to head home the winner in the 65th minute.
Late chances for substitutes Mendos Rickson and Auwal Ibrahim went begging as Nigeria failed to equalize.
The Flying Eagles will now face the loser of the Egypt-Morocco semi-final for bronze on Sunday, while Amajita advance to the final.