Kenya Rising Stars impress Akhulia in Nigeria draw - U-20 AFCON

Photo Credit - FKF Media.

Kenya U20 national team assistant coach Anthony Akhulia said he was impressed with the team's performance, holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw in their final Group B fixture of the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo on Wednesday.

The result, coupled with Morocco’s 3-1 win over Tunisia in the simultaneous Group B fixture, means the Flying Eagles finished second in the group with five points, while Kenya exited the tournament with just one point from three matches.

Kevin Injehu gave the East Africans a dream start when he calmly slotted home a sixth-minute penalty after Emmanuel Chukwu was penalised for a handball inside the box following a VAR review.

Nigeria responded swiftly, and Kparobo Arierhi restored parity in the 13th minute with a composed finish from close range after latching onto Simon Cletus’ through ball. Rising Stars stunned the Nigerians again midway through the second half when substitute William Gitama finished off a well-worked set-piece in the 68th minute to make it 2-1.

But their joy was short-lived. Just five minutes later, captain Daniel Bameyi converted a penalty after Rickson Mendos was fouled in the area by Lawrence Ouma, drawing Nigeria level once more.

“It was a good match, a good show from the team. We ended the tournament with a 2-2 draw. I feel like today we played well despite again conceding a penalty in the last minute of the game. But we played well,” Akhulia told Pan-Africa Football.

“Overall performance, I feel like the boys really gave their best in terms of how we defended, how we attacked. We managed to score two goals against a very strong Nigerian side, a team that had not conceded any goals. I feel the boys have done well.”

On Kenyan players being approached by scouts, Akhulia said: “I have also heard about this, but to me it is a rumour because I haven’t heard any confirmation from any team or agent seeking to sign any of our players.

“I think it is a good thing. It will be a good thing if a player from the U20 team is being approached by teams from Europe. That is a good thing for our football and for our nation.”

Kenya’s exit was confirmed, having earned just one point from the three games – despite scoring in all three matches. They bowed out with an impressive five goals.