Flying Eagles Coach Zubairu Confident as Nigeria Opens U-20 World Cup Campaign

|By Babatunji Wusu

Flying Eagles head coach, Aliyu Zubairu, has expressed confidence in his squad’s readiness for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile after rounding off preparations with a commanding 3-1 win over Australia.

The West Africans, who earlier battled Chile to a 1-1 draw in their first friendly, wrapped up a 12-day training camp in Santiago before arriving in Talca on Thursday night.

Zubairu said the friendly matches served as a platform to fine-tune tactics and correct lapses rather than chase results.
“In the two matches we played here, the results were not even the most important thing. What mattered to us was identifying our deficiencies and working on them,” he told the team’s media officer.

Nigeria will open their campaign against Norway next Monday in Talca, as the biennial tournament kicks off on Saturday across Chile.