Nigeria on Friday beat Mali 2-1 to claim bronze at the Algeria 2013 Africa Youth Championship which ends on Sunday with Egypt taking on Ghana in the final.
Aminu Umar completed his brace in the 82nd minute from the spot after the referee awarded the Flying Eagles a penalty after the Wikki Tourists midfielder was fouled by Boubacar Diarra.
Umar opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 72nd minute after he reacted quickly to hit the back of the net from Abduljeleel Ajagun’s well taken shot, which was blocked on goal line.
Mali scored a late goal on 87th minute through Tiekoro Keita to leave the Ahmed Zabana Stadium, Oran, venue for the classification clash with a respectable defeat.
By reaching the semifinals both teams qualified along with the finalists for FIFA U-20 World Cup scheduled to take place in Turkey between June 21 and July 13.
The Flying Eagles arrived in Algeria as defending champions, having won the 2011 edition in South Africa.
Meanwhile, Africa Cup of Nations winner Adokiye Amiesimaka believes the Flying Eagles will challenge for the World Cup.
Amiesimaka, who lamented the Flying Eagles’ failure to defend their title urged coach John Obuh to work on his strikers ahead of the World Cup.
“They played well, but unfortunately, they have been dethroned from their position as the best team at the AYC,” the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner was quoted as saying by the News Agency of Nigeria during the week.
“They should not be affected by that but should come back home after their third place match and work on perfecting their chances of scoring goals.”
