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Tag: Flying Eagles

  • U-20 World Cup: Flying Eagles arrive in Lodz for Senegal clash

    U-20 World Cup: Flying Eagles arrive in Lodz for Senegal clash

    The delegation of Nigeria’s national under-20 male football team arrived in the city of Lodz on Saturday afternoon.

    Ademola Olajire, Director of Communications at Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said the team were in the Polish city ahead of their FIFA Under-20 World Cup Round of 16 game on Monday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Flying Eagles are billed to face fellow African flagbearers Senegal.

    “Players and officials left their Qubus Hotel in Bielsko-Biala after breakfast and arrived in Poland’s third largest city just in time for lunch at the Hotel Ambasador Premium,” Olajire said in a statement on Saturday.

    Nigeria had finished third in Group D and only qualified as one of the best four third–place finishers in the six groups.

    Senegal, Africa’s vice-champions, finished at the top of Group A after two wins and a draw.

    The seven-times African champions are yet to truly impress in Poland since their opening day 4-0 lashing of Qatar in .

    They had won with goals from Maxwell Effiom, Henry Offia, Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru and Aliu Salawudeen.

    A 0-2 loss to the U.S. and 1-1 draw with Ukraine, both in Bielsko-Biala, meant the Flying Eagles had to sneak into the knockout rounds.

    “But the spirit in camp is high following qualification, and the prospect of squaring up to another African team appears to be engendering unspoken steel determination in the playing body,” the NFF spokesman had added.

    Nicknamed “The Promised Land”, Lodz however does not hold much promise for the African army.

    This early knockout round confrontation between Nigeria and Senegal means depleted African presence going forward.

    Already, South Africa’s Amajita are back in Johannesburg following group stage elimination.

    The other African team, Mali, will have to battle Argentina at the same stage on Tuesday evening.

    Half of the Round of 16 fixtures are all-Confederation clashes.

    Apart from Nigeria/Senegal, South American representatives Uruguay and Ecuador are up against each other, as Asians Japan and South Korea, and European teams Italy and Poland.

    The 18,000–capacity Stadion Widzewa, where the Flying Eagles tackle Senegal on Monday evening from 7.30pm, will also host the Final match on June 15.

    FIFA U20 WORLD CUP ROUND OF 16 MATCHES

    SUNDAY (JUNE 2)
    Italy Vs Poland (Gdynia)
    Colombia Vs New Zealand (Lodz)

    MONDAY (JUNE 3)
    Uruguay Vs Ecuador (Lublin)
    Ukraine Vs Panama (Tychy)
    Senegal Vs Nigeria (Lodz)

    TUESDAY (JUNE 4)
    Japan Vs Korea Republic (Lublin)
    France Vs USA (Bydgoszcz)
    Argentina Vs Mali (Bielsko-Biala)

  • Poland 2019: Flying Eagles receive $3,000 bonus

    Poland 2019: Flying Eagles receive $3,000 bonus

    The Nation’s U-20 team the flying Eagles just back from Niger after participating in this year’s AFCON U-20 Nations cup have received qualification bonus of $3,000 (about N1.08million) each for picking one of the tickets to the World cup in Poland.

    The Paul Aigbogun tutored side made it to the semifinals of the championship alongside Mali, South Africa and Senegal but failed to make it to the final after losing 2-1 to Mali.

    According to Sportinglife, the bonus was given to the boys just before Mali Match.

    The team then went ahead to again lose the third place match 1-0 to South Africa thus finishing 4th in the classification of the four countries that will be flying the continent’s flag at the World cup in Poland.

    We further gathered that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials who paid out the largesse told the players point blank not to expect anything as addition to what they have been paid.

    Reactions have continued to trail the performance of the team at the just ended Under 20 AFCON in Niger, with many submitting that the team will need a lot of tinkering if it is to make any impact in Poland.

    Nigeria has won the championship a record seven times and some had tipped Aigbogun and his technical crew to increase the tally, a dream which crumbled like a pack of cards

    Nigeria has been drawn against USA, Qatar and Ukraine while African Champions Mali will test strength against Panama, France and Saudi Arabia.

    The 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup will kick off on 23 May 2019.

    The Flying Eagles will begin their campaign against Qatar on May 24 in Tychy, before clashing with the USA three days later in Bielsko-Biala and then face Ukraine in the last group game on May 30.

    Nigeria’s best performance at this category at the world cup was at the 1999 and 2007 and 2011 editions in Nigeria, Canada and Columbia respectively where she finished in the quarterfinals.

  • Flying Eagles to know World Cup opponents on Sunday

    Flying Eagles to know World Cup opponents on Sunday

    Nigeria’s male U-20 National team, Flying Eagles, will know their opponents at this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Poland after the draws ceremony to be held inside the Gdynia Sports Arena, Poland on Sunday.

    Already, the seven-time African champions have been slotted into Pot 2 of the draws alongside African champions Mali, as well as New Zealand, Colombia, Korea Republic and Italy.

    There will be six groups of four teams each at the 24-nation championship, with the top two teams at the end of the group phase, as well as the best four third-placed teams, advancing to the Round of 16.

    Hosts Poland, Portugal, Uruguay, France, USA and Mexico are in Pot 1, with Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Argentina, Ecuador, Ukraine and Honduras in Pot 3.

    Pot 4 has Japan, South Africa, Panama, Norway, Qatar and Tahiti.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Paul Aigbogun-tutored side finished outside the medals zone at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations that ended in Niger Republic on Sunday, following consecutive penalty shoot –out defeats to Mali and South Africa.

    The team picked the last spot available for Africa.

    NAN reports that Poland, which co-hosted the 2012 European Championship with Ukraine, will host this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in the cities of Lublin, Bielsko Biala, Tychy, Bydgoszcz, Gdynia and Lodz, from May 23 to June 15.

  • U-20 AFCON: Flying Eagles to wear black armbands in semi-final clash

    U-20 AFCON: Flying Eagles to wear black armbands in semi-final clash

    Nigeria will battle Mali for a ticket to the final of the on-going African U-20 African Nations Cup in Niamey, Niger Republic.

    The Flying Eagles topped Group A of the competition, while Mali came second in Group B behind Senegal.

    All the four teams in the semi-finals have already qualified to represent Africa at the World Cup in Poland later this year and so the battle is for the right to play in the final game at the Stade General Seyni Kountche.

    The Nigerians, who lost their federation’s former Secretary General, Taiwo Ogunjobi on Monday, will wear black armbands in memory of the late administrator.

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said in a statement yesterday that CAF has approved its request for the Flying Eagles to wear black armbands in the game in honour of the late Ogunjobi.

    Ogunjobi, also the chairman of Osun State Football Association, passed away on Monday morning at the University College Hospital, Ibadan after a brief illness.

    Speaking on the game against the Malians, Flying Eagles’Head Coach, Paul Aigbogun said they are relaxed going into the remaining games having achieved their aim of qualifying for the World Cup.

    He told thenff.com, “We set the World Cup ticket as our first target for the championship. We have that now, so we are relaxed to go in there and give our best for the second target of winning the trophy, while playing without tension or stiffness.”

    This is the second meeting of both sides in less than three months, with the Flying Eagles beating the Malians at the WAFU U-20 Cup tournament in Lome, Togo in December 2018.

    The second semi-final, also set for the Stade General Seyni Kountche, will see Group B winners, Senegal tackle South Africa.

  • Flying Eagles have qualities to replace Super Eagles – Chukwu

    Flying Eagles have qualities to replace Super Eagles – Chukwu

    Christian Chukwu, former coach of the Super Eagles, on Tuesday said that the current squad of Flying Eagles possessed the right qualities to replace the Super Eagles in the future.

    Chukwu, who made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, described the performance of the Flying Eagles as “exceptional” in their match against South Africa in the ongoing AFCON U-20 tournament.

    He, however, pointed out that the team’s finishing should be worked on ahead of their next encounter, saying the improvement in their scoring abilities would make them the team hard to beat during the tournament.

    “The Flying Eagles I see playing in Niger Republic are good as future Super Eagles.

    “What the coach needs to work on now very seriously is finishing,” Chukwu said.

    The former Green Eagles captain also urged the players to embrace team work during their match against the host country, Niger Republic which is their last group match.

    NAN reports that the Flying Eagles will have to play their final group game before they can be assured of a place in the semi-finals of the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

    Qualification for the semi-finals enables a national team to pick up one of the four tickets for the World Cup.

    The Coach Paul Aigbogun-tutored side were held to a barren draw by South Africa on Tuesday at the Seyni Koutche Stadium in Niamey.

    The situation as it is, means the Flying Eagles’ qualification for the World Cup and the semi-finals of the tournament is still hanging in the balance.

    The Flying Eagles had won their first game 2-0 against Burundi and they had been tagged as the favourite against the Amajita of South Africa.

    South Africa had played a 1-1 draw against host Niger in their group opener; hence they needed a good result to stay in contention.

    In Tuesday’s second group game, the Flying Eagles dominated the early exchanges and contained South Africa effectively.

    The duo of Maxwell Effiong and Nazifi Yahaya, who both scored in Sunday’s game against Burundi, posed a constant threat to South Africa. But goalkeeper of the Amajita did well to maintain a clean sheet throughout the match.

    In the second half, the Flying Eagles continued their dominance as South Africa defended stoutly to earn a share of the spoils and thus allow World Cup qualification to go to the wire.

    Nigeria still sits on top of Group A with four points while South Africa have two points. Niger Republic and Burundi are set to play each other in the other group game.

    Amajita will face Burundi in their final Group A clash on Friday evening and Flying Eagles will take on the host nation Niger.

    The Flying Eagles still have their destiny in their own hands as they only need to avoid defeat in their last game against hosts Niger to ensure qualification for the semi-finals of the competition.

    NAN

  • U-20 AFCON: Flying Eagles beat Burundi to lead Group A

    U-20 AFCON: Flying Eagles beat Burundi to lead Group A

    The Flying Eagles shot to the top of Group A at the 21stAfrica Under-20 Cup of Nations in Niger Republic on Saturday by beating Burundi 2-0.

    The victory came hours after host nation Niger Republic and South Africa drew 1-1 in the opening game of the tournament and also the group’s other match.

    Nigeria’s national under-20 men’s team, seeking an eighth continental title, dominated in the first period but had nothing to show for their superior possession and onslaughts.

    However, in the 55th minute, Yahaya Nazifi got the Flying Eagles in front, before the lively Effiom Maxwell made it two in the 71st minute.

    Nigeria came close on a few other occasions as the match wore on, but there were to be no more goals on the night at the Stade Seyni Kountche in Niamey.

    Saturday’s results mean the Flying Eagles will earn a spot in the competition’s semi-finals and a ticket to this summer’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals in Poland if they win again.

    They take on South Africa on Tuesday evening in their second match in the group, while hosts Niger Republic face Burundi same day.

    The Flying Eagles then clash with the hosts in what could be an explosive encounter at the Stade Seyni Kountche on Friday.

    The championship continues on Sunday with matches in the all-West African Group B, where Senegal, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso battle it out.

     

  • Flying Eagles list Utin, Nazifi, Maxwell for Under-20 AFCON [Full squad]

    Flying Eagles list Utin, Nazifi, Maxwell for Under-20 AFCON [Full squad]

    Team captain Ikouwem Utin and forwards Yahaya Nazifi and Effiom Maxwell are among 21 players listed by Nigeria’s under-20 male team for the Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations in Niger Republic.

    Utin, a wingback with Enyimba International Football Club of Aba, won a silver medal at the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco.

    Nazifi recently signed contract with a Danish club, while Maxwell was Man-of-the-Match in the 4-2 defeat of Ghana’s Black Satellites at the WAFU Under-20 Cup Tournament in Togo last month.

    Aigbogun has also included goalkeepers Detan Ogundare, Akpan Udoh and Olawale Oremade, as well as defender Mike Zaruma, midfielders Peter Eletu, Quadri Liameed and Aniekeme Okon, and forwards Adeshina Gata and Ibrahim Abubakar.

    Defender Valentine Ozornwafor, who also play for Enyimba, midfielder Jamil Muhammad of Kano Pillars and Oasis FC forward Ibrahim Aliyu have also been included in the Nigeria squad.

    The seven-times African champions will be buoyed by three foreign-based professionals — Igoh Ogbu of Rosenburg FC of Norway, Afeez Aremu of IK Stat FC, also in Norway, and Denmark-based Nazifi.

    The list has been submitted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

    Nigeria take on Burundi’s Junior Itamba in their first match of the 2019 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations on Feb. 2 at the Stade General Seyni Kountche.

    This will be hours after Niger Republic’s Junior Mena would have fought it out with South Africa’s Amajita in the competition’s opening match at the same venue.

    The Flying Eagles will then face South Africa on Feb. 5, before tangling with Niger Republic on Feb. 8 in their final match of the group phase.

    FLYING EAGLES FOR 2019 U20 AFCON

    Goalkeepers: Akpan Udoh (Unattached); Olawale Oremade (Oasis FC); Detan Ogundare (Kogi United)

    Defenders: Mike Zaruma (Plateau United); Ikouwem Utin (Enyimba International); Igoh Ogbu (Rosenburg FC, Norway); Solomon Ogberahwe (El-Kanemi Warriors); Valentine Ozornwafor (Enyimba International); Olasunkanmi Aliyu (Emmanuel Amuneke Academy)

    Midfielders: Peter Eletu (Prince Kazeem Academy); Quadri Liameed (36 Lions); Aniekeme Okon (Akwa United); Jamil Muhammad (Kano Pillars); Afeez Aremu (IK Stat, Norway)

    Forwards: Adamu Alhassan (Kano Pillars); Yahaya Nazifi (Sonderjyske FC, Denmark); Ibrahim Aliyu (Oasis FC); Adeshina Gata (Wikki Tourists); Ibrahim Abubakar (Plateau United); Okoh Victor (Real Sapphire FC); Maxwell Effiom (Enyimba International)

    NAN

  • Flying Eagles to face Saudi Arabia ahead of Under-20 AFCON

    Flying Eagles to face Saudi Arabia ahead of Under-20 AFCON

    The Flying Eagles, Nigeria’s national under-20 team, will face their Saudi Arabian counterparts in an international friendly on Jan. 22 in Jeddah.

    Aliyu Ibrahim, the Flying Eagles’ Team Administrator, said on Tuesday in Abuja the match was designed to toughen the team ahead of next month’s Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria will contest in Group A of the competition against host nation Niger Republic, South Africa and Burundi.

    “Arrangements are in top gear for the seven-times African champions to fly out of Nigeria this weekend for the game in Jeddah,’’ Ibrahim said.

    Tuesday’s match will rekindle memories of the opening match of the 1989 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 16.

    The Flying Eagles came from behind to defeat the Saudis 2-1 inside the King Fahd International Stadium.

    In that match, Al Suraiti got the Saudis in front after 16 minutes but Mutiu Adepoju and Christopher Ohenhen got second half goals which earned Nigeria three precious points.

    The Flying Eagles eventually finished the tournament as runners-up, after losing the final match 0-2 to Portugal.

    Team head coach Paul Aigbogun is expected to travel to Jeddah with the squad he will be taking to Niger Republic for the Under-20 AFCON.

  • U-20 WAFU Cup: Flying Eagles defeat Ghana, to face Mali in semi-final

    U-20 WAFU Cup: Flying Eagles defeat Ghana, to face Mali in semi-final

    Nigeria’s U-20 team, Flying Eagles, on Wednesday reached the semi finals of the WAFU U-20 Championship in Togo with a come-from-behind 4-2 win over the Black Satellites of Ghana.

    Paul Aigbogun’s men who were held to a goalless draw by Niger in their opening game in the competition finished top of Group B with four points.

    The Flying Eagles will face Mali in the semi-final 2018 U-20 WAFU Cup, while Niger will do battle with Senegal in the other last four clash.

  • Flying Eagles to face Ghana, Benin in WAFU tournament

    Flying Eagles to face Ghana, Benin in WAFU tournament

    Nigeria’s national under-20 side will face their counterparts from Ghana, Niger Republic and Benin Republic in Group B of the WAFU Under-20 Cup Tournament, an official said on Tuesday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition is billed for Lome, the capital of Togo from Dec. 6 to Dec. 16.

    Organisers have put the competition together as a major preparatory programme for the sub-region’s five teams which have qualified to participate at the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations finals.

    The competition is holding in Tanzania from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17.

    Seven-time champions Nigeria, alongside Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger Republic will take part in the 11–day tournament in Lome.

    The five countries will be joined in Tanzania by Burundi, Angola and the host nation.

    The Flying Eagles come up against the Young Squirrels of Benin in their first match of the tournament on December 7.

    This is before matches against Junior Mena of Niger Republic (Dec. 9) and Ghana’s Black Satellites (Dec. 12).

    The eight–nation tournament will see hosts Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal contending in Group A.

    Matches have been scheduled for the Stade Municipal and the Stade JCA, both in Lome.

    Togo and Cote d’Ivoire will battle it out in the opening match on Dec. 6, hours before Senegal confront Burkina Faso.

    Both matches will come up at the Stade Municipal, which is also venue for the final match on Dec,16.