The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn alongside Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in Group B of the WAFU B Zonal qualifiers for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania, Completesports.com reports.
The WAFU B qualifying draw which was held on Tuesday will see Niger Republic, Benin Republic and Burkina Faso slug it out in Group A.
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The competition will kick-off on November 14 to 29 2020 in Lome, Togo.
The top two teams (finalists) in other qualification zones will qualify for the main tournament in Mauritania.
The Flying Eagles are expected to start preparations for the WAFU B zonal qualification tournament this week in Abuja after the Federal Government lifted restrictions on contact sports late last weekend.
The 2021 U-20 AFCON in Mauritania will hold from February to March.
The Flying Eagles have won the U-20 AFCON title a record seven times and last won it in 2015.
At the 2019 edition in Niger Republic, the Nigerian side finished fourth.
By James Agberebi
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COMMENTS
Hmmm our coaches go collect bribe tire, waiy and see the type of players they gonna use
This is gonna be tough .
The best way to prepare is now . Or better still I believe they NFF ought to have put the team in place long enough before the list of opponents being displayed. We’ll all see how it goes
Yeah bro, it will be very tough for 9ja bcos I bet Ghana and Ivory coast must have been camping for some time now, which would give them an edge but we just appointed a coach not too long ago. Talent alone can’t win games, NFF just think assembling boys 1 month to a tournament like this is enough to guarantee a qualification forgetting that other countries have talent too. Soccer academies in french speaking African countries are run properly with some academies even affiliated with french league clubs hence the reason why they do well when they travel there to play (I know being able to speak the language also helps). I understand covid 19 hasn’t helped but federations everywhere make contingency plans to address possible scenarios like this. Ghana hasn’t featured in u20 for awhile now and they will be to participate this time around. Ghana are usually very difficult to beat same with ivory coast. Like someone said Olusegun B said I hope that NFF has a team already but that would be them imposing players on the coach. I really hope what I read awhile back is true that the coach spoke with Manu Garba about some players he (Bosso) wants to invite. I think if true that’s a good sign.
Guys can we change the conversation as the thread between Glory and Igbekun Abo is getting really boring. Both of them are matured individuals (although acting childish) but we forumites shouldn’t let them hijack this forum where we are supposed to be trying to move our football forward. Instead of being on each other’s throats, SARS are killing youths everyday. We need to love each other even tho we might not share each other’s blif. What they are doing is giving credence to what is happening in 9ja, if we don’t love our fellow man why on earth will the government care for us. Again, please Glory and Igbekun Abo can u both stop, we don hear. your contributions are important to help the SE. Thanks De star for trying to de-escalate the issue, big up to u.
I just pray, REALLY pray we can do something sensible in this U17and U20 Afcon qualifiers, because Its a winner takes all tournament. Only the team the wins will qualify for AFCON (very senseless arrangement by CAF). We could also have simply initiated contingency measures by moving Manu Garba to the U20 since he is the immediate past U17 coach and has a large dossier of players he must have come across during the last U17 period, while Nduka Ugbade, an ex international, a highly intelligent and highly qualified coach (he is one of the few local coaches who has a CAF A licence) and a long term assistant at U17 would have been moved up to head coach position. Having been within the U17 set up for years, he too must have had a large dossier of players interacted with from the nation U13 and U15 teams as well as various soccer academies. But they and their clueless consultants screened coaches for 1 year up till a few weeks to the tournament proper and ended up naming coaches who have not been involved in youth football in ages and who have no business (IMHO) handling our youth teams.
Sporting activities had resumed in Benin rep and Togo before Nigeria….there is no reason why we couldnt have camped these teams in any of these 2 countries (Afterall, before Intl flights resumed in Nigeria, people were travelling by road to Benin rep and flying to europe from there). I know is can be logistically cantankerous, but It wouldnt even have necessarily needed to be a 5 star camping. Just a screening camp of 50 players each with 5-10 players decamped after every week or 2 till a provisional 25 is left. Those ones would then be left to battle for shirts for the final 18 within the last 4 weeks of preparation. Afterall, no be camp them still go camp for Nigeria now wey dem don lift ban..? They would have still gotten a good camp at a fair price in any of Benin rep or Togo.
But foresight is something that is very rare to see in our administrators these day. As optimistic as I want to be, I dont see us winning the tournaments ahead of us and qualifying for U17 and U20 AFCON. We should just brace up for another waste of a generation of future SE players.
… @Dr.Drey… I am not optimistic that we can achieve anything in this tournaments because of the reasons you have enumerated. Ugbade and Manu should have been allowed free hand with the u-20. I can bet you almost everyone from the last u-17 will be discarded. They will bring in their own players. How NFF and Pinnick did not recruit coaches early really beats me. The new CAF Zone A and B qualifiers in West Africa to produce just two winners from each zone moving to the final tourney is just a ploy for CAF to ease qualification to the worldcup also with representatives from East, North and Southern Africa… Often when you have a staggered draw format with pairings lumping the nations freely, the West Africans often always knockout and are more competitive than their peers from other regions of Africa such that you have mostly an all-West-African contingent gracing the world cup proper… Since this new CAF president came onboard he changed the old format just for the sole reason of cutting the force in West Africa… Call it quota system for all other regions of Africa to be included. It’s a shameful arrangement now…
Yes @JimmyBall a shame indeed.The three countries paired could easily qualify for the final playoffs.Nigeria ,Ghana and Cote d’ivoire are undoubtedly among the best football teams in Africa and grouping them to knock each other out in a world cup playoffs is just another way of killing the dreams of many football talents by the new CAF president who may be uncomfortable with the dominance of this west African giants for so long.
On whether we shall qualify or not?Well the coronavirus which led the government shutting down sporting activities to curb the spread of this dangerous virus has made preparation difficult coupled with the Nigerian presidents phlegmatic nature in dealing with issues didn’t help matters neither.
Having said that,I believe we should qualify for one of the tournaments.We sometimes are able to work on short notices,though it backfired last time with the the under 23.
I am hoping CAF executives would review this destructive system which makes it impossible for some of the best youth sides in Africa to display their talents at the global stage.
Anywhere quota system is a culture, never expect to get the best.
Absolutely. It rarely works. Nice one Dr Drey.
You are right Drey my brother
When it comes to national team selection, I don’t care for the QUOTA SYSTEM. I have no problem with all the players coming from one ethnic group, if those players are THE VERY BEST THAT WE HAVE AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
Merit, not geographical location, should be the only criterion for selection into our national teams. From our local Nigerian born lads, to our foreign born lads, just select the VERY BEST, and have these represent us.
thank God for puting us with strong teams, if you dont chose talented players which alwsys come from poor families, una no go go far for that group, you cant give what you dont have, so many talented boyz full everywhere but no body will chose them because they dont have money and connection to reach there. it happen to me, stop taking bribe uder17 and under20 coaches, check all great talented players came from poor family them, it take grace of God for soneone to see them. I would have prefer coaches from 1994 wotld cup team who have play the game to highest level, which one be bosso and umaru?
Daniel I see say you get lion heart. Lolzzz. True sha. To be the best you have to beat the best. 3 gbosas for you. Here we go, Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa!