Nigeria's Flying Eagles will take on Egypt ahead of the AFCON U20, with Nwankwo Kanu's Enyimba star leading a 30-man squad to battle against the North Africans.
Nigeria's Flying Eagles are preparing for a two-match friendly tour of Egypt, with the matches scheduled for February 25th and 27th.
Head Coach Aliyu Zubairu has called up 30 players to camp, as the team gets ready to face their Egyptian counterparts in the high-profile clash in Cairo.
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The team will be led by Enyimba's wonderkid Clinton Japhet and Ikorodu City's impressive winger Shola Adelani, who has been making waves on his NPFL debut.
These friendlies will serve as preparation for this year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations, which will be held in Cote d’Ivoire from April 26th to May 18th.
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The top four teams from the tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Chile, scheduled for September 27th to October 19th.
The Flying Eagles, who have won the Africa U20 Cup of Nations seven times (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, and 2015), secured their place in the upcoming tournament by winning the WAFU-B U20 Championship in Lome, Togo, last October3.
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In the keenly contested final, they defeated neighbours and rivals Ghana’s Black Satellites 3-1.
Nigeria has a rich history in the FIFA U20 World Cup, finishing as runners-up in 1989 and 2005.
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At the last FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Argentina, the Flying Eagles narrowly missed out on the semi-finals, losing to Korea Republic after extra time.
Full list of players invited
Goalkeepers: Ifeanyi Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Light Emerenonye (Diamond Academy); Abubakar Rufai (Mavlon FC)
Defenders: Adamu Maigari (El-Kanemi Warriors); Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United); Kenneth Igbokwe (Enugu Rangers); Haruna Aliyu (Wikki Tourists); Musa Ademu (Wireless FC); Shamsudeen Muhammad (Mavlon FC); Ibrahim Abdullahi; Shamsudeen Ishaq (Grassrunner FC); Steven Jolomi (Mavlon FC)
Midfielders: Raphael Oyebanji (Shuffle Select FC); Mohammed Ibrahim (Niger Tornadoes); Kizito Opara (Campus Academy); Alabi Sulaiman Jojo (El-Kanemi Warriors); Sulaiman Abubakar (Diamond Academy); Shafiu Adamu (Wikki Tourists); Cletus Simon (Mavlon FC)
Forwards: Bidemi Amole (Real Sapphire Academy); Clinton Japhet (Enyimba FC); Matthew Chukwusa (Morack Academy); Nasiru Salihu (El-Kanemi Warriors); Divine Olisha (Fostar Academy); Jerry Salami (Aspire Academy); Oluwaseyi Akinfenwa (Real Sapphire Academy); Shola Adelami (Ikorodu City); Abdulrahaman Ishaq (Sport Supply Academy); Ezekiel Anthony (Aspire Academy); Sodiq Olalekan Adewunmi (Jaguar Sports FC)