Nigeria’s hopes of winning an eighth U-20 Africa Cup of Nations title came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday evening, as South Africa edged the Flying Eagles 1-0 in a tense semi-final clash at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia.
Despite dominating possession and creating more chances, the Flying Eagles were undone by a second-half goal that stemmed from a costly goalkeeping error.
Substitute goalkeeper Ajia Soliu Yakub, who replaced the injured 15-year-old Ebenezer Ifeanyi-Harcourt, failed to deal with a cross in the 66th minute, allowing Tylon Christopher Smith to head home.
Nigeria started the match on the front foot, firing ten shots in the first half alone.
Clinton Jephta, Kparobo Arierhi, and Tahir Maigana all had opportunities to break the deadlock.
Arierhi rattled the crossbar, while Maigana’s curled effort narrowly missed the target.
However, despite their pressure, the score remained goalless at halftime.
The second half brought an early setback as Harcourt, the hero of Nigeria’s quarter-final win over Senegal, where he saved two penalties, went down injured and had to be substituted.
His replacement, Yakub, struggled to match the same level of composure and was caught out by Smith’s header midway through the second half.
Coach Zubairu introduced fresh legs in an attempt to chase an equaliser, but the Flying Eagles couldn’t find a way through South Africa’s defence.
A late yellow card for Odinaka Okoro added to Nigeria’s frustration, ruling him out of the upcoming third-place playoff.
Unbeaten since their opening game, South Africa reached their first U-20 AFCON final since 1997, and now look to win the competition for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will play for the bronze with Egypt, on Sunday, May 18.
