Julius OkorieNigeria and reigning Champions, Senegal, will be at each other’s jugular today in Egypt, venue of the ongoing U-20 AFCON.
The clash, billed for the Suez Canal Stadium, in Ismailia, is a winner takes all encounter that will serve dual purpose. The winner aside from advancing to the semi-finals of the championship is guaranteed a ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup billed for Chile later this year.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelFlying Eagles of Nigeria, who are seven time champions of the U-20 championship and two-time runners up of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, are aiming to clinch their 8th title and also attempt to finally win the trophy in Chile.
But the Aliyu Zubairu led side will need to put every arsenal in their armoury in today’s encounter against Senegal, who were almost exiting the tournament after getting a draw against Central African Republic and losing to Ghana but bounced back with a 2-0 win over Congo DR.
READ ALSO:U-20 AFCON: Nigeria, Senegal Lock Horns In Quarter-final Showdown
Both teams have clashed six times since 2015 with Nigeria winning two and Senegal four with two games drawn.
Today’s quarter-final is a repeat of the 2015 final, which Nigeria won 1-0 in Dakar. Both teams had near rough ride in the group stage and with the stake higher have no choice but to come out smoking.
Senegal will be hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the U20 AFCON title since Ghana did it in 2011.
Speaking ahead of today’s encounter, Coach Aliyu Zubairu insists his lads are focused and mentally prepared for the showdown against an equally determined Senegal.
He, however, underscored that though winning the title is equally important, winning the match to pick a ticket for the World Cup in Chile is paramount.
“We don’t want to pursue two things at the same time,” he said.
“First things first, and that is getting the ticket to the World Cup. That’s where all our attention is. We are gathering momentum and I believe we are in a ready stage now.” Continuing in his submissions ahead of the clash Zubairu added, “We respect all opponents, including Senegal as defending champions. But Nigeria has been in that position before. This time, we are coming to be the ones to stop them and run our race into the semi-finals.”
The semi-finalists of the championship earn an automatic ticket to the World Cup and will represent Africa at the World Cup billed for Chile from 27 September to 19 October 2025.
All the semi-finalists are expected to emerge today. In other quarter-final pairings, Morocco take on Sierra Leone, Ghana slug it out with hosts Egypt while South Africa settle scores with Congo DR.
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.
