Wednesday’s 3-1 spanking of Australia by the Flying Eagles in their last build-up match ahead of this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup is not getting to the head of their coach, Aliyu Zubairu, as he promised that they will not take any opponent for granted at the competition.
Sports247 reports that the Nigerian youth national team showed a lot of promise during the midweek cracker in the Chilean countryside, as they improved on a 1-1 draw they earlier had with the host country during their first friendly last weekend.
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Rather than conclude that the draw with Chile and victory over Australia showed his team as top contenders for the title at this year’s Youth Mundial, Zubairu assured that they will not underrate any of their group opponents.
Sports247 gathered that, for their group stage at Chile 2025, the under-20 Eagles will first battle Norway on Monday, then tango Saudi Arabia on Thursday, before ending first round action versus Colombia, all of whom Zubairu tagged as ‘footballing nations.’
“There are no lesser national teams any longer at all levels of international football. Did anybody give Cape Verde a chance against the likes of Cameroon? But they are now knocking their boots in the World Cup qualifiers.
“The same thing goes to the under-20 teams. Besides, Colombia is a footballing nation, Norway, as well, while Saudi Arabia is growing very fast,” Zubairu acknowledged.
He then assured that, while respecting their group opponents, the Flying Eagles will also play with dignity, knowing that Nigeria, as twice runners-up and once third placed, has a strong pedigree of past records at this level of global football.
“Nigeria also is not a pushover as far as football is concerned, especially at the level of under-20 national teams,” he declared.
Zubairu then reiterated that his first target at Chile 2025 is to ensure that his side successfully prosecutes their group matches and pick one of the two tickets into the knock out stage, after which they would then focus on trying to win the cup at stake.
“Coming out of that group is a mission that is ahead of us now, which we are not going to negotiate with, and it’s non-compromisable.
“We definitely just have to move up with one of the slots in the group. Our target is to come out of the group, and that’s what matters most,” Zubairu affirmed.
