The Flying Eagles will this evening in the city of Bielsko-Biala battle the United States of America in their second group D match at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. Kickoff time is Nigeria 22:30 . ET.
The coach Paul Aigbogun tutored team got off to a flying start on Friday when they spanked Qatar 4-0 while their opponents in today’s match suffered a 1-2 loss to Ukraine in the other group match.
The USA who are now desperate must avoid defeat against Nigeria to stand any chance of progressing while another win for the Flying Eagles will land them in the knock-out stage of the competition.
“It is not going to be an easy match; the Americans are hurt after losing their first game. But we are in good form and we need the three points to assure our place in the Round of 16,” Aigbogun said yesterday.
A former Flying Eagles star, Garba Lawal commended the players on their convincing win over Qatar but said they would be up against a tougher opposition this evening.
He said after their opening day loss, the USA will do everything possible to win and stay in contention for one of the group tickets.
The USA know that another defeat will end their campaign in Poland so they will fight with everything.
Flying Eagles of Nigeria started their World cup campaign on a high as they thrashed Qatar 4-0 in the opening match of the Group D.
Maxwell Effiom got the first goal for the Paul Aigbogun's side on 12 minutes before Sweden based Henry Offia doubled the lead on 24 minutes with both assists from Captain Ikouwem Utin.
Manchester City’s Tom Dele-Bashiru got the third goal after the break on 68 minutes before Defender Aliyu Salawudeen completed the rout on 74 minutes.
The Eagles next play the USA on today and then face Ukraine on Thursday at the Bielsko-Bahalia stadium.
The tournament will run from May 23rd to June 15th, 2019.
Know Nigeria Flying Eagles five top players:
Valentine Ozonwafor, the gangling defender is one of the few players that made it to Poland from the home front and from the squad that participated at the African Championship held in Niger Republic earlier in the year. The quality that Ozonwafor brings to the defence is massive and it was not a surprise when the Enyimba defender was included in CAF’s Team of the Tournament. The central defender is arguably the best defender in the team.
Though with the Flying Eagles, Ozonwafor’s abilities has seen him already play for the U23 and has been put on standby for AFCON 2019 by the Super Eagles coach.
Ikouwem Utin, formerly with Enyimba, the left-back is the Flying Eagles captain and he is among the players to watch. Utin, who has since moved to Israel, is a workaholic, great at primarily doing his defensive job, tracking back after surging forward and acting as cover for his central defensive teammates. His good crosses and passing abilities would all come good for the Flying Eagles.
Tom Bamdiele Bashiru, has even been tipped to shine in Poland by FIFA themselves.
The Manchester-born Dele-Bashiru is expected to pull the strings in the middle of the park for the Flying Eagles at Poland 2019. The Nigerian earned his first appearance for Manchester City during a league cup match against Leicester City in 2017 and he racked many appearances for City’s U23 team. The midfielder has represented England’s U-16s before opting to play for Nigeria.
Jonathan Zaccala, arguably the most exposed out of the three shot-stoppers, many are keen to see what the Italian born will bring to the table as the other two goalkeepers are also fantastic in their own right. Zaccala has a solid all-round game, with good shot stopping ability and confidence at claiming crosses into the box. He might however, need to improve on his distribution and concentration level in other to be considered ahead of the others.
Sucess Mankanjuola, very impressive with his left feet, the youngster is quite talented and his trickery should help the Flying Eagles navigate past their opponents.
Makanjuola also has eyes for goals so many fans will be waiting to the celebration styles of the Water FC Abuja starlet.
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