The Flying Eagles bowed out 4-3 to the Aiglons of Mali on penalties following 1-1 stalemate after extra time in their semi-final match on Wednesday.
The Amajita lost to Senegal 1-0 through Givemore Khupe’s own goal twenty minutes from time, gifting Les Lionceaux a place in the final against Mali.
The two teams will be meeting for the second time in Niamey after canceling out each other 0-0 in the group stage of the tournament.
Amajita’s coach, Thabo Senong, is featuring in his third successive U-20 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
He failed to go past the group stages in Senegal four years ago, then finished fourth in the last edition in 2017 in Zambia and qualified for the World Cup in South Korea.
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles are the most successful team in the tournament’s history with seven titles, but failed to defend the title they won in 2015 in Senegal when they didn’t qualify for the tournment in Zambia.
“Playing against Nigeria is another opportunity for us to face opponents of another caliber by putting this on the account of our preparation for the world. We will do our best since we play every game to win.” Senong told journalists.
Flying Eagles have kept three clean sheets in the tournament while South Africa has two and scored just two goals in their four matches.
The Flying Eagles have failed to score in just one match in the tournament which was the goalless draw with the Amajita who have been very organized in defense.
The Saturday’s Third-Place game will kick-off at 4.30pm Nigeria time.
