Nigeria’s Super Eagles edged Jamaica 5-4 on penalties to win the Unity Cup at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, following a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Christantus Uche scored the decisive penalty after Dwayne Atkinson missed for Jamaica, handing Nigeria the trophy in a lively contest played in front of an energetic crowd.
Eric Chelle made five changes to the side that defeated Ghana, but his team started brightly.
Moses Simon opened the scoring in the 9th minute, poking home from close range after good work by Cyriel Dessers.
Jamaica responded almost immediately, with Kaheim Dixon capitalising on poor defending to beat Stanley Nwabali.
The Super Eagles continued to press forward, with Dessers and Simon causing problems down the flanks.
They regained the lead in the 58th minute when Samuel Chukwueze finished off a well-worked move from Nathan Tella.
However, Nigeria’s defensive lapses resurfaced again, allowing Jon Russell to draw Jamaica level with a tidy finish inside the box.
Winners in 2004
Winners again in 2025
The Super Eagles have won the Unity Cup in UK pic.twitter.com/rFF5NEJtQ7
— MikeThePundit (@Mike_ThePundit) May 31, 2025
The goal seem to spur the Super Eagles as they took the game to Jamaica seeking the winning goal, but some resolute and physical defending by the Caribbean side kept the Eagles at bay.
A physical battle the Eagles had to fly over
The game became ill-tempered as Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali picking up a caution after an altercation during a corner kick with Isaac Hayden.
Both teams pushed for a winner late on, with Wilfred Ndidi, Tolu Arokodare and Simon all going close, but the game headed straight to penalties after 90 minutes.
In the shoot out, both teams converted their first four spot kicks. Atkinson’s miss gave Nigeria the advantage, and Christantus Uche calmly converted the fifth to seal the win.
Nigeria XI: Nwabali; Sodiq Ismail, Igoh Ogbu, Frederick Benjamin, Felix Agu; Frank Onyeka, Wilfred Ndidi; Nathan Tella, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze; Cyriel Dessers.
