Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will take their first major step at the 2019 U20 World Cup in Poland when they battle Qatar.
This Group D clash in Tychy will kick off 5pm in Nigeria Friday.
The Nigeria U20s have been overhauled by coach Paul Aigbogun after a rather disappointing U20 AFCON in Niger, where they could only manage fourth place and the last qualifying ticket to Poland 2019.
There will be as many as 12 players who did not feature in Niger, but will now be expected to play a major role at the World Cup.
Among these additions are Bournemouth midfielder Nnamdi Ofoborh, a defensive midfielder, who could also play in a more offensive position; attacking midfielder Kingsley Michael from Perugia as well as Tom Dele-Bashiru of Manchester City.
The defence led by skipper Ikouwem Udoh was solid at the U20 AFCON and so central defenders Valentine Ozornwafor and Igho Ogbu are also in Poland.
Both Udoh and Ozornwafor were named in the Tournament XI of the U20 AFCON.
Ofoborh, Dele-Bashiru and Kingley Michael will bring a lot more creativity in midfield, while in attack Henry Offiah and Jerome Akor will be counted on for goals.
“It won’t be easy but we hope to win this game,” Michael told SCORENIGERIA
Oil-rich Qatar are the host of the 2022 World Cup and they have invested heavily on football and already the results have begun to show like their sensational triumph at the Asian Cup earlier this year.
Defender Ahmed Alminhali said: “Every national team here in Poland has to be taken seriously – there are no more small teams, everyone has genuine ambitions.
“Nigeria have played in finals and even won trophies. Ukraine are serious customers. All our opponents have their own style of play. We will try to capitalise upon our opponents’ weak points to achieve our goals.”
They trained in both Slovakia and France preparatory to this World Cup.
