Head coach Aliyu Zubairu has invited 30 players to camp as Nigeria’s U20 national team, the Flying Eagles, gear up for a two-match tour of Egypt later this month.
According to team administrator Aliyu Lawal Ibrahim, the seven-time African champions will face their Egyptian counterparts in friendly matches scheduled for February 25 and 27 in Cairo.
The 2024 Africa U20 Cup of Nations will take place in Côte d’Ivoire from April 26 to May 18, with the top four teams securing qualification for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, set for September 27 to October 19.
The Flying Eagles earned their spot in Côte d’Ivoire after winning the WAFU-B U20 Championship in Lomé, Togo, last October, defeating Ghana’s Black Satellites 3-1 in the final.
A two-time FIFA U20 World Cup runner-up (1989, 2005), Nigeria came close to reaching the semi-finals at the last tournament in Argentina but fell to South Korea after extra time.
Full Squad List:
Goalkeepers:
- Ifeanyi Harcourt (Sporting Lagos)
- Light Emerenonye (Diamond Academy)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Sodiq Olalekan Adewunmi (Jaguar Sports FC)
The Flying Eagles will now focus on preparations for the upcoming friendlies and their campaign at the U20 AFCON.
