{"id":849460,"date":"2025-05-19T16:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/nigeria-flying-eagles-captain-daniel-bameyi-named-in-u-20-afcon-2025-best-xi\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T16:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:12:10","slug":"nigeria-flying-eagles-captain-daniel-bameyi-named-in-u-20-afcon-2025-best-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/nigeria-flying-eagles-captain-daniel-bameyi-named-in-u-20-afcon-2025-best-xi\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria: Flying Eagles captain Daniel Bameyi named in U-20 AFCON 2025 Best XI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Nigeria\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/?s=Flying+Eagles+\">Flying Eagles<\/a> may have fallen short of continental glory at the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, but captain Daniel Bameyi has emerged as a shining light for the West African giants, <a href=\"https:\/\/Soccernet.ng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 19-year-old Bayelsa United centre-back was the only Nigerian named in the tournament\u2019s official Best XI, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cafonline.com\/caf-u-20-africa-cup-of-nations\/news\/totalenergies-u-20-afcon-2025-best-xi-unveiled-as-south-africa-dominate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revealed<\/a> by CAF\u2019s Technical Study Group (TSG).<\/p>\n<p>Bameyi earned his place after a string of outstanding performances that helped Nigeria secure third place in the competition.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_159858\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-159858\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/daniel-kolocho-bameyi-of-nigeria-challenges-lawrence-ouma-okoth-of-kenya-during-the-2025-africa-cup-of-nations-u20-match-between-nigeria-and-kenya-1.webp\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria's Flying Eagles captain Daniel Bameyi vs Kenya\" width=\"540\" height=\"326\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-159858\">Nigeria&#8217;s Flying Eagles captain Daniel Bameyi vs Kenya. Photo Credit CAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bameyi featured in every minute of Nigeria\u2019s six matches, anchoring the defence with maturity beyond his years. Under his leadership, the Flying Eagles kept three clean sheets and conceded only three goals \u2014 one of the best defensive records at the tournament.<\/p>\n<h3>Nigeria: Flying Eagles captain Daniel Bameyi named in U-20 AFCON 2025 Best XI<\/h3>\n<p>Though Nigeria\u2019s attack faltered in Egypt, with no player contributing more than a single goal or assist, Bameyi\u2019s consistent defensive dominance ensured the team left with a bronze medal and their pride intact.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_160953\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160953\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GrQS8q8XwAAY_jN-750x596.jpeg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria\u2019s Flying Eagles \" width=\"750\" height=\"596\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-160953\">Nigeria\u2019s Flying Eagles. Photo Credit: CAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His inclusion in the Best XI is a fitting recognition of his influence and potential as one of Nigeria\u2019s future stars.<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the Best XI reflected the tournament\u2019s overall hierarchy. Newly crowned champions South Africa dominated with four selections, including standout goalkeeper Fletcher Lowe and defender Tylon Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Lowe kept three clean sheets, including one in the final against Morocco, and made a tournament-high 24 saves to earn the Best Goalkeeper award.<\/p>\n<p>Tylon Smith was the heartbeat of South Africa\u2019s defence. The 19-year-old\u2019s campaign peaked with a crucial <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/05\/south-africa-nigeria-tylon-flying-eagles-u-20-afcon.html\">winning goal<\/a> in the semi-final against Nigeria, cementing his status as the tournament\u2019s Best Player and earning him a place in the elite XI.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_160954\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160954\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GrQS6wSW4AAA_ok-750x531.jpeg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria\u2019s Flying Eagles \" width=\"750\" height=\"531\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-160954\">Nigeria\u2019s Flying Eagles. Photo Credit: CAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>READ MORE\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/05\/flying-eagles-eric-chelle.html\">Super Eagles alert: Three Nigeria U20 stars who impressed Eric Chelle at the U20 AFCON<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Runners-up Morocco were also well represented, with four players \u2014 Othmane Maamma, Hossam Essadak, Hamza Koutoune and Faycal Zahouani \u2014 making the cut.<\/p>\n<p>Sierra Leone\u2019s Momoh Kamara, who won the Golden Boot with four goals, also made the list. Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Goweily and South Africa\u2019s Neo Rapoo and Lazola Maku rounded out the eleven.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa\u2019s Raymond Mdaka was named Coach of the Tournament after guiding his side to their maiden U-20 AFCON title with tactical discipline and faith in youth. Morocco, meanwhile, picked up the Fair Play Award for their sportsmanship throughout the competition.<\/p>\n<h3>Best XI of the Tournament (1-4-2-3-1):<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Fletcher Lowe (South Africa)<\/li>\n<li>Neo Rapoo (South Africa)<\/li>\n<li>Mohamed Goweily (Egypt)<\/li>\n<li>Othmane Maamma (Morocco)<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Bameyi (Nigeria)<\/li>\n<li>Lazola Maku (South Africa)<\/li>\n<li>Hossam Essadak (Morocco)<\/li>\n<li>Faycal Zahouani (Morocco)<\/li>\n<li>Hamza Koutoune (Morocco)<\/li>\n<li>Momoh Kamara (Sierra Leone)<\/li>\n<li>Tylon Smith (South Africa)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Best Player<\/strong>: Tylon Smith (South Africa)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top Scorer<\/strong>: Momoh Kamara (Sierra Leone) \u2013 4 goals<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Goalkeeper<\/strong>: Fletcher Lowe (South Africa)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Coach<\/strong>: Raymond Mdaka (South Africa)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fair Play Award<\/strong>: Morocco<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Soccer Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150x150.jpg\"  height=\"80\" width=\"80\">\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/author\/imhonlamhen-eronmhonsele\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele turns into a ball of passion when writing about Nigerian football and its talents, whether rising stars or established legends, locally and abroad.<\/p>\n<p>From the deepest corners of the Middle East, to the green fields of the Americas, to the celebrated grounds in Europe, and the rich soils of Africa, Imhons is more than glad, usually with a glass of a tasty drink nearby, to capture the essence of the game, by connecting the dots between culture, identity, and football.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/05\/nigeria-flying-eagles-bameyi.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Nigeria\u2019s Flying Eagles may have fallen short of continental glory at the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, but captain Daniel Bameyi has emerged as a shining light for the West African giants, Soccernet.ng reports.\u00a0 The 19-year-old Bayelsa United centre-back was the only Nigerian named in the tournament\u2019s official Best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":849461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3383,27096,2005],"tags":[12923,15956],"class_list":{"0":"post-849460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-flying","8":"category-nigeria","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-flying","11":"tag-nigeria"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}