The Nigerian U-20 men’s national team, the Flying Eagles, have kicked off the final phase of their preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup scheduled to begin September 27 in Chile. The camp is currently underway at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project in Abuja.
Head coach Aliyu Zubairu is leading the team through the decisive stage of their three-phase build-up, describing the current preparations as being “at top gear.”
According to Zubairu, the squad features a mix of home-based talents and Nigerian players plying their trade abroad. However, the coach admitted that club commitments have delayed the release of several foreign-based invitees.
“We have invited some players from abroad and some from within the country. Even though the majority of those from Europe have still not been allowed by their clubs to join us, we are pushing with the players on ground to ensure we build a formidable and solid team,” Zubairu explained.
One of the key players under watch is David Stockbrink of Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands. Stockbrink had previously been called up for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations but missed out due to injury.
Zubairu noted that this camp will provide a proper assessment of the young forward: “When we invited him for AFCON, it was based on strong recommendations, but unfortunately he got injured in Casablanca and could not feature. Now he’s here, and this is the first training session, so we’ll continue to monitor his progress.”
On the team’s chances at the World Cup, the Flying Eagles coach exuded confidence, particularly if the squad gets bolstered by the arrival of more foreign-based players.
“If we are able to get our best legs, Nigeria should rest assured that this team will prove their worth at the World Cup,” he said.
Nigeria will be aiming to better their impressive run at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations earlier this year, where they finished as runners-up.
