Nigeria are through to the semifinals of the 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations after a penalty shootout victory over defending champions, Senegal.
The crucial quarterfinal clash between Nigeria and Senegal, held at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia on Monday ended in a pulsating goalless draw in regular time, as both teams struggled to find the net.
With no goal in extra-time, the winner had to be determined through penalties shootout, where Nigeria triumphed over Senegal.
Nigeria were faultless in the penalty shootout, scoring three with Senegal scoring only one from four kicks. Nigeria remains unbeaten at the tournament following recent victory over the defending champions.
The result marks Nigeria’s eighth successive quarter-final win at the U20 AFCON under the current format. They now advance to the semi-finals, where they will look to maintain their record of never losing a quarter-final tie in this competition.
Both teams had met three times at the U20 AFCON tournament, with Nigeria triumphing over Senegal on two occasions and losing just one.
Nigeria continued their dominance over Senegal on Monday afternoon, securing an all-important win to book a place in the semifinals.
They will take on the winner of South Africa and DR Congo showdown later today. Having secured a place in the last four, Nigeria is guaranteed a World Cup slot to be played later this year in Chile.
With this result, Nigeria move one step closer to a record-extending eighth U20 AFCON title, while Senegal will now reflect on what could have been after a hard-fought campaign.
