Flying Eagles Head Coach, Paul Aigbogun, is optimistic that his team will put in their very best at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in the Niger Republic.
The seven-time African champions will be faced with a lot of challenges when they meet Africa’s best at the U-20 Cup scheduled to begin from Saturday, February 2 to Sunday, February 17, 2019.
“It is a tournament we are going to approach with all seriousness. This team has a huge burden on it because of the previous performances of Nigeria at the U-20 level. Nigeria has won the competition seven times and anything less than coming home with the trophy would always be seen as a failure.
“Playing in the WAFU Cup tournament in Togo gave my players a preview of what things would look like in the Niger Republic, and we learnt a lot from the defeat to Senegal in the final match.” — Paul Aigbogun
The Flying Eagles are expected to play a tune-up friendly game against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday next week, in preparation for the eight-team U-20 AFCON. They have been grouped in Group A, alongside tournament host, Niger Republic, Burundi, and South Africa.
The team will first take on Burundi, on February 2, before they face Niger on February 5.
In their final group game, the Eagles will meet South Africa on February 8.
All four semi-finalists at the U-20 AFCON will qualify to represent Africa at the U-20 World Cup in Poland, billed for May 23, 2019, to June 15, 2019.
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