Julius OkorieFlying Eagles of Nigeria will begin their campaign in this year’s AFCON U-20 championship holding in Egypt against Tunisia today.
The Aliyu Zubairu tutored side who had arrived Egypt a week ago to acclamatize and shape up for the tournament, took their confidence level to a new height after beating hosts, Egypt, 2-1 in a shape up match going into today’s opener billed for 4pm at the 30 June Air Defence Stadium in Cairo.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Flying Eagles are no novice in this championship having won a record seven times in the past and finished twice as runners up at the world stage.
A win against Tunisia in today’s opener will be a huge plus for the Zubairu boys to further push up the confidence and chances of progressing from Group B where they also have Morocco and Kenya to contend with.
The Nigerian lads on paper are condemned to do well in this tournament, as they are the most successful side with seven titles (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, and 2015).
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Led by head coach, Aliyu Zubairu, who favours an adventurous 4-3-3 formation, the team is packed with rousing talents such as Kparobo Arierhi, Daniel Bameyi, and Nathaniel Nwosu.
Their qualification campaign was brilliant, as they overcame an early setback to edge Ghana in a dramatic final, and after a good show against Egypt in the shape up match there is no doubt that the Flying Eagles are battle ready for today’s encounter.
Though Nigeria begins campaign today, the championship actually kicked off on Sunday April 27th with two matches already played. In the first match Zambia settled for a goalless draw against Sierra Leone. Egypt who lost 2-1 in a shape up friendly against Nigeria, switched into competitive mood beating their South African counterparts by a lone goal in the second game of Group A.
Semi-finalists for the championship in Egypt will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup scheduled for Chile in September.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
