By Wale Mustapha
Nigeria’s Auwal Ibrahim was named Man of the Match after scoring the decisive goal in the Flying Eagles’ 1–0 victory over Tunisia in their opening Group B fixture at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) presented the award to Ibrahim following his standout performance on Friday, as Nigeria began their campaign with a hard-fought win over the young Carthage Eagles at the June 30 Stadium in Cairo.
Ibrahim found the back of the net in the 38th minute, netting the only goal of the match to give Nigeria an early edge in the tournament.
It was a breakthrough moment for the young forward, who had not featured in last year’s WAFU B U-20 Championship in Lomé, Togo.
He was later substituted in stoppage time by Olalekan Alabi after a strong showing that underlined his value to the squad.
The Flying Eagles, seven-time U20 AFCON champions, will face Morocco next in their second group-stage match on Sunday.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
