By Aderonke Ojo
Head Coach of Nigeria’s U-20 men’s national team, the Flying Eagles, Coach Aliyu Zubair has expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress following the completion of their 12-day pre-World Cup training programme in Chile.
The team played two warm-up matches, drawing 1-1 with Chile and securing a 3-1 victory over Australia, ahead of their opening game against Norway.
Speaking to the team’s media officer, the coach reflected on the team’s challenges during the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Egypt, particularly their blunt attacking department, and noted significant improvements in recent games.
“In the two matches we played here, the results were not even the most important thing. What mattered to us was identifying our deficiencies and working on them. Against Chile, we noticed a lot of areas to improve, and by the time we faced Australia, the corrections we made really worked. We saw clear improvement,” he explained.
The Flying Eagles drew one match and won one during their friendly outings in Chile, scoring four goals in total. Unlike in AFCON, where the team struggled to find the net, the coach was pleased to see different players contributing goals.
“At AFCON, our attack was not biting at all. But from these two matches, you can see the difference—our attack is sharper, and we are exploiting spaces better in the final third. It’s a big improvement, and with the little time left before the World Cup, we will continue to work on it,” he added.
He further stressed that the friendly games had boosted the team’s confidence and provided a clear direction ahead of their opening World Cup match against Norway.
Flying Eagles side are drawn in Group F with Norway, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia.
Nigeria opening fixture comes against Norway on Monday, September 29, followed by matches with Saudi Arabia on October 2 and Colombia on October 5.