The Flying Eagles are ready for tomorrow’s opening Group B match of the 2025 U20 AFCON and so not under any pressure, according to their coach.
The Flying Eagles will square up against their Tunisian counterparts at the 30 June Stadium Cairo tomorrow with kick-off time billed for 4pm Nigerian time.
Coach Aliyu Zubairu said his team have prepared very well and are ready to give their best in the tournament.
“We are very much prepared,” he said.
“If you look at the journey, we started the preparation from Abuja to Katsina, Katsina to Abuja, and now we’re in Egypt waiting for the D-day, which is tomorrow—our first match against Tunisia. Definitely, the boys are ready.
“We all know Nigerians. Anytime any Nigerian team is playing, their attention is always there. They leave all their businesses, everything they are doing, to concentrate on the game.
“We wouldn’t want to let them down. But accordingly, their prayers are very, very important for us. We need their support and prayers so that the team can always perform and excel to the level we want.”
The coach said the boys are not be under any pressure, given the result of the last meetings between both teams in the third place final of the last edition of the U20 AFCON, where the Nigerian team trounced their Tunisian counterparts.
“There’s not any pressure from any angle. It shouldn’t be pressure—it should serve as motivation,” he explained.
“Even though you don’t dwell on the past, as it is, yes, we beat them 4-0 the last time, but this is a different scenario with two different teams, even though they represent the same countries.
“So, I don’t see it as pressure. History can always play a role in motivating a team, so it’s going to serve as a motivation.”
He maintained that the top target of the team is to secure a ticket to the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile in September.
“We wouldn’t want to put too much pressure on the boys. They want to win the trophy, but the first target now is to get the ticket to the World Cup.
“By the time we get to the semi-final stage, then we’ll sit down with them again and decide where we want to be. But definitely, the first target now is to get to the World Cup,” he said.
