Sports Minister satisfied with Nigeria’s record fourth U20 Afcon bronze-winning feat

Minister for Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has commended the Nigeria U20 men’s national team for not coming back home empty-handed following their bronze-winning achievement in Egypt.

The FIFA World Cup-bound Nigeria U20 national team defeated Tunisia 4-0 on Friday to clinch the bronze medal at the CAF U20 AFCON in Egypt. setting a record of finishing on the podium in the competition a record 13 times.

Sunday Dare alongside former Super Eagles Captain and aide to President Muhammadu Buhari were in Cairo when Nigeria faced Gambia on Monday but were handed a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Cairo.

Despite missing out on a 10th final, the sports ministry boss is satisfied with the team’s podium finish as he believes the group will take a lot of lessons from the tournament to the global showpiece in Indonesia in May.

“We were disappointed we couldn’t play in the final or win this competition as we planned to but this convincing victory over Tunisia today (Friday) has redeemed some of the pain we felt last Monday after the Gambia game,” Dare said in a statement.

“A bronze medal is better than nothing. Now we have to also focus on doing a lot better at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia in May. There is very little time left but I believe the coaches now know where their focus should be in improving the team.”