Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying Eagles, have embarked on a short break following their two-match tour of Cote d’Ivoire last week. Players and officials were given nine days off as they arrived from Abidjan on Saturday evening, with the team to regroup in Abuja on Monday, 10th March.
Aliyu Zubairu’s charges won one and lost one of the two games, with captain Daniel Bameyi scoring from the penalty spot and forward Divine Oliseh making it 2-0 against the Ivorian Young Elephants on Wednesday. However, the table was turned in the second match on Friday, with the hosts running away 2-0 winners at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny.
Nigeria will contend with Egypt, South Africa and Morocco in group B of this year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations, taking place in Cote d’Ivoire 26th April – 18th May, with the two top-placed teams in the pool guaranteed spots in the quarter finals.
With a 13-team final tournament, three pools and a five-team group A, it means that the two top-placed teams in the other two groups also qualify for the last eight, alongside the best two third-placed finishers in the three groups.
All four semi-finalists will fly Africa’s flag at this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup finals scheduled for Chile, 27th September – 19th October.
2025 AFRICA U20 CUP OF NATIONS
GROUP A: Cote d’Ivoire, UNNIFAC, DR Congo, Ghana, Tanzania
GROUP B: Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco
GROUP C: Senegal, Zambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone
