Nigeria’s Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles settled for a 2-2 draw against Kenya in their final group stage game of the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.

Although Kenya lost their first two games of the competition, coach Aliyu Zubairu’s lads had to dig deep to get the draw, as the East Africans took the lead twice.

It was not the best performance from the lads, but it was just for the team to earn a place in the quarterfinals.

In this article, Soccernet.ng highlights five key takeaways from the Flying Eagles’ game against Kenya.

Nigeria can bleed

Going into the game against Kenya, Nigeria had not conceded in 180 minutes of football against quality teams like Morocco and Tunisia.

The only team with a similar record in the competition was Zambia. However, against Kenya, coach Zubairu’s boys conceded twice. One was from a penalty conceded by Emmanuel Chukwu, while the other was off a set-piece.

Coach Zubairu has to work on his defence to ensure they keep it water-tight as they go into the knockout round.

Daniel Bameyi is Nigeria’s best player, by far

Daniel Kolocho Bameyi of Nigeria during the men U20 Caf Africa Cup of Nations match between Nigeria and Benin at 30 June Stadium on May 7, 2025 in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo credit: Imago)

Daniel Bameyi is playing in his second Under-20 AFCON, and he is leading the team by example. There have been a few mistakes, which are expected for a player of his age, but he has been mostly solid.

He has marshaled his teammates well and has been ruthless when it comes to doing his job at the back. So far, no Nigerian player has shone like the 18-year-old. He will look to continue performing at his high level and help the Flying Eagles clinch gold.

Three games in, still no chemistry

For most of the competition, the Flying Eagles have labored to get wins. In all their three group stage games, they have been unconvincing, and the reason is not far-fetched. The Flying Eagles have lacked chemistry. There are still a lot of loose passes in midfield. The attackers have also lacked coordination.

All the goals that the team has produced have been off one or two moments of brilliance, but they’ve failed to sustain it throughout the entire 90 minutes. If they continue like this, it is tough to see them go far.

The team still can’t pull off an effective counter-attacking move

For a team that has potentially deadly forwards, the Flying Eagles have failed to produce an effective counter-attacking moves. Kenya left a lot of holes in their backline when they ventured forward, but Nigeria failed to capitalize.

It just looked like whenever they went on counter-attacks, they did not know what to do in the final third. Moving forward, this is an area they need to work on.

Divine Oliseh seems to be the best midfielder on the team

Divine Oliseh Nigeria (Photo by Imago)

For a midfielder, Divine Oliseh does not hold the ball well, but he has the work rate to compensate for that. He started the first two games against Morocco and Tunisia, but he started from the bench against Kenya due to a slight knock.

Before his introduction into the game, Nigeria’s midfield was all over the place. But his introduction to the game added some calm to the midfield. The lad still has a lot to work on, but no other midfielder has distinguished himself yet.