Ahead U20 AFCON: Nigeria beats Zambia in a six-goal thriller  

By Olusola Adebayo

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria defeated their Zambia counterpart by 4-2 in an international friendly played at the main bowl of the  Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja ahead of the 2023  U20 Africa Cup of Nations, U20 AFCON, on Thursday evening.

The six-goal thriller saw Nigeria shoot into the lead in the 39th minute through Halliru Sarki to make it into half-time as the better side. 

It took the junior Chipolopolo just ten minutes into the second half to restore parity. 

The Flying Eagles took another lead in the 63rd minute through Lekan Adams to make 2-1 just after an hour mark.

But the lead was short-lived as the Zambians equalized three minutes later to even the score line at 2-2 in the 66th minute.

The game became an end to end stuff as both sides tried to undo each other to the delight of the scanty crowd at the stadium.

It was Nigeria that took the lead in the 77th minute as Emmanuel Uchegbu scored the third goal for Nigeria on the day as the sustained attack paid off. 

Samson Lawal made it for Nigeria in the 87th minute to give the Flying Eagles their 17th victory in preparatory games since they started preparing for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for the U20 which is billed to take place in Egypt later in the month. 

Both Nigeria and Zambia will face a country from the other’s region in Egypt, with Nigeria drawn against Mozambique (alongside host nation Egypt and Senegal) in Group A while Zambia will face Benin Republic (alongside Tunisia and The Gambia) in Group C. 

The Semi-Finalists will represent the continent at the next FIFA U20 World Cup later in the year.