As the Nigerian youth national team, Flying Eagles, intensifies their preparations for this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, a former captain of the squad, Ikouwem Udoh Utin, says their coach, Aliyu Zubairu, has to work better on the squad’s attack.
Sports247 reports that the under-20 team will open their campaign at the Youth Mundial against Norway on September 29th, after which they will face Saudi Arabia on October 3rd and Colombia on October 6th, ahead of which Ikouwem stressed the need for Zubairu to get a better impact in his squad’s attack.
The versatile right-wing-back, who shot to limelight with Enyimba of Aba but now lines out for Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), also charged Zubairu to ensure he blends the squad properly during their training sessions.
He added, “When they train together, it helps the players to understand the pattern that the coach wants them to play. Training together and being together in camp helps a lot. They can also play some friendlies before the kick-off date.”
The 25-year-old former home-based Eagles defender, who previously played in Israel and Croatia, then starred for a year at Marsa of Tunisia before returning to the NPFL in 2023, concluded by stressing that Zubairu should use the remaining three weeks before Chile 2025 begins to finalise his build-up strategies and work better on his attackers.
“They can use like three weeks to prepare, because the players are active in their different clubs, but they need to work more on the attack.
“They played well during the qualification tournament, but their attack was not sharp. Football is about goals, and that depends on your attacking pattern.
“So, they need to work on the attackers as well as the team as a whole. The coach has to teach them his tactics in all aspects of the game,” Ikouwem posited.
