The Flying Eagles will kick start their campaign at the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile on Monday against Norway at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca for the first time ever in the history of the tournament.
Nigeria, silver medalists in Saudi Arabia in 1989 and in The Netherlands in 2005, will be making their 14th appearance at the championships that started as FIFA U21 Youth Tournament in Tunisia in 1977.
On the other hand, Norway will be making their third appearance at the championships.
Interestingly, this will be the first-ever meeting between these two sides at the U20 level, with the Flying Eagles having a higher pedigree than the Scandinivian country at this level of the championships.
Nigeria sealed their qualification to Chile after finishing third, with the bronze medals, during the Africa U20 Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.
The Flying Eagles are brimming with confidence ahead of Monday’s encounter with Norway, following their 1-1 draw against host nation Chile and 3-1 win over Australia in preparatory friendlies for the tournament.
Nigerian U20 side is a blend of domestic based players and some Europe-based players.
Fortunately, the Aliyu Zubair-led squad will be banking on the experience of team Captain, Daniel Bameyi and midfielder Daniel Daga who were part of the immediate past team that reached the quarter-final stage in Argentina in 2023.
The seven-time African champions will have vowed to start strong at the championships against Norway with a win at Estadio Fiscal de Talca on Monday, at 5pm local time (Chile time) and (9pm in Nigerian time).”
