Flying Eagles ready for WAFU Zone B Cup of Nations

Flying Eagles head coach Ladan Bosso says his team is ready for action at the 2022 WAFU Zone B Under-20 Cup of Nations in the Niger Republic.

Bosso told reporters on Monday in Abuja that the Nigerian national under-20 men football team was in good shape and ready to depart for Niamey on Thursday.

The Flying Eagles will face perennial rivals Ghana in their opening Group B game when the WAFU Zone B qualifiers get underway.

Bosso said his team opened camp in Abuja on April 19 with 56 players and it gradually took shape.

“We started to reduce the initial team gradually, even though we started the camp barely a week from now.

“We have played three matches, and we won all the games.

“We had our seventh training session Monday evening and we have started to see a difference in the team’s performance than when we started.

“So, we are good to go,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team’s first friendly match ended in a 2-2 draw and it was for those players who came for screening.

However, on Saturday, they played two friendlies, winning 4-2 against Cosmos FC of Abuja and 4-0 against Basira FC from Nasarawa state.

“In these three matches, we scored 10 goals and conceded four. This shows that things are not too bad.

“On Tuesday, we will take on City FC of Abuja in another friendly to continue to work on the team in order to produce a better result,” Bosso added.

The coach however said he and his team were not scared of Group rivals Ghana and Burkina Faso at the qualifiers.

“We will strive to give our best to win our first match and the subsequent ones in order to progress,” he said.

NAN reports that the 2022 WAFU Zone B Under-20 Cup of Nations will hold from May 7 to May 20, and it is a qualifier for the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has already approved for the team to travel with 30 players.

Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Ghana are in the tournament’s group B, while hosts Niger Republic have been drawn against Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and the Republic of Benin in Group A.