It is a date with another set of Lion Cubs of Senegal Monday afternoon and coach Aliyu Zubairu has assured that the Flying Eagles are focused and determined to win that will guarantee them a place at this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile.
Kick-off time is 1pm Nigerian time.
Unbeaten in their Group B campaign, the Flying Eagles however finished second behind another set of Lion Cubs from Morocco, and had to proceed to Ismailia for their game against title-holders Senegal, who also finished second in their Group C, which also included Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Central African Republic.
The 19-team finals have been whittled down to eight contenders, with Tanzania and Zambia eliminated in Group A, Tunisia (despite their three points) and Kenya thrown out from Group B and Central African Republic stopped in Group C.
On Saturday, General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mohammed Sanusi, urged the seven-time champions to play differently when they confront the Cup holders Monday afternoon.
“I have no doubt that you have the ability to rise to the occasion,” Sanusi charged.
“Monday is the occasion, because you are not only playing against the defending champions, you also must win to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The first objective for any team in any competition that is a qualifier for a bigger tournament is to qualify, followed by the second objective of winning the trophy.
“The NFF and the Nigeria football fraternity are fully behind you and giving you the maximum support, and you have to repay their encouragement and prayers with a World Cup ticket on Monday.”
Two years ago, the Lion Cubs from Senegal pipped the Flying Eagles 1-0 in the two teams’ first match of the CAF U20 Championship at the Cairo International Stadium, on the way to the Cubs’ first triumph in the competition, after they defeated Gambia 2-0 in the final. Nigeria finished third in the same competition.
However, Nigeria know they cannot afford to pull any punches on Monday as only the semi-finalists will qualify to fly Africa’s flag at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile later in the year.
