U20 AFCON Preparations: Flying Eagles To Test Strength Against Egypt In Cairo Friendlies

Nigeria’s U-20 men’s team, the Flying Eagles, have invited 30 players to camp as they gear up for a two-match friendly tour of Egypt later this month.

The team’s head coach, Aliyu Zubairu, will lead the seven-time African champions to face their Egyptian counterparts in Cairo on February 25 and 27 as part of preparations for the 2024 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, scheduled to take place from April 26 to May 18, will serve as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.

The top four teams will secure a place in the global competition, set to hold from September 27 to October 19.

The Flying Eagles earned their place in the AFCON finals after winning the WAFU-B U-20 Championship in Lomé, Togo, last year. In the final, they defeated arch-rivals Ghana’s Black Satellites 3-1 to clinch the regional title.

Nigeria’s U-20 team is one of the most successful in African football, having been crowned African champions in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, and 2015.

They have also finished as runners-up at the FIFA U-20 World Cup twice (1989 and 2005) and narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot in the last edition in Argentina, losing to South Korea in extra time.

Full List of Invited Players

Goalkeepers

Ifeanyi Harcourt (Sporting Lagos), Light Emerenonye (Diamond Academy) and Abubakar Rufai (Mavlon FC)
Defenders
Adamu Maigari (El-Kanemi Warriors), Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United), Kenneth Igbokwe (Enugu Rangers), Haruna Aliyu (Wikki Tourists), Musa Ademu (Wireless FC), Shamsudeen Muhammad (Mavlon FC), Ibrahim Abdullahi, Shamsudeen Ishaq (Grassrunner FC) and Steven Jolomi (Mavlon FC).

Midfielders

Raphael Oyebanji (Shuffle Select FC), Mohammed Ibrahim (Niger Tornadoes), Kizito Opara (Campus Academy), Alabi Sulaiman Jojo (El-Kanemi Warriors), Sulaiman Abubakar (Diamond Academy), Shafiu Adamu (Wikki Tourists) and Cletus Simon (Mavlon FC)

Forwards

Bidemi Amole (Real Sapphire Academy), Clinton Japhet (Enyimba FC), Matthew Chukwusa (Morack Academy), Nasiru Salihu (El-Kanemi Warriors), Divine Olisha (Fostar Academy), Jerry Salami (Aspire Academy), Oluwaseyi Akinfenwa (Real Sapphire Academy), Shola Adelami (Ikorodu City), Abdulrahman Ishaq (Sport Supply Academy), Ezekiel Anthony (Aspire Academy) and Sodiq Olalekan Adewunmi (Jaguar Sports FC)

The Flying Eagles will begin camping in Abuja this week before departing for Egypt.

The friendly matches will provide an opportunity for Coach Zubairu to assess his squad ahead of the AFCON tournament in April.