Flying Eagles battle Junior Elephants for WAFU B U-20 crown
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will today in Accra, Ghana, seek a revenge of sorts when they battle Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire for the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B U-20 title.
The game will remind football followers of another epic battle between both countries last year when the senior Elephants defeated the Super Eagles 2-1 to win the 2023 African Cup of Nations. Although this game is between the junior sides of both countries, some observers believe that it gives Nigeria the opportunity to have one over the Ivorians, whose game has been on the upward trajectory since the days of Didier Drogba and the Toure brothers.
The Ivorians have taken no prisoners at this tournament, winning all four previous matches. They edged Burkina Faso 2-1 in their first match, and went on to conquer Niger Republic and Togo with 1-0 and 2-0 score lines in their other two matches in the group phase.
In Sunday’s semifinals, they came from behind to defeat host nation Ghana 2-1, underscoring their strength, resilience, and adversity quotient.
Forward Mohammed Abdullahi earned Nigeria a point with an 84th-minute equalizer against the Black Satellites of Ghana in the competition’s opening match, and the Flying Eagles then came from behind to rout Benin Republic’s U-20 boys 4-1 in the three-team group A.
In their semifinal, two-time FIFA U-20 World Cup runners-up, Nigeria, edged the U-20 boys of Niger Republic 4-3 after a penalty shootout, following 0-0 in regulation time.
There will be plenty of fireworks at Ghana’s Centre of Excellence in Prampram today, with the Nigerian President of WAFU B, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, seated alongside other top officials of WAFU at the grand finale.
This encounter is an opportunity for Head Coach Aliyu Zubair to put some polish on his rising reputation as a winner, having led the Flying Eagles to win the WAFU B U-20 Championship in Togo last year, and coming away with a FIFA World Cup ticket from the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt a couple of months ago.
Mohammed Abdullahi and Ezekiel Kpangu are the players to watch out for in the Nigerian side, while Abdoul Bamba and Ali Kone constitute potent threats at the fore of the Ivorians.
