At the NFF/FIFA Goal Project in Abuja, the Flying Eagles, the Nigerian U-20 national team, have begun the last stage of their preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
As the squad moves into the most crucial phase of their three-phase training program, head coach Aliyu Zubairu is keeping an eye on their preparedness.
Zubairu told reporters that the preparations are “at top gear now” and that he was optimistic about them. He disclosed that the team is made up of both foreign-based players and indigenous players from Nigeria.
Zubairu affirmed, “We have invited some players from abroad, Nigerian players abroad, and some from within the country.”
“We are working with those on the ground to ensure that we are moving towards having a very formidable and solid team for Nigeria U-20, even though the majority of those we invited from abroad have still not been permitted to come by their clubs.”
David Stockbrink, the talented player from Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands, has been a major focus during the camp. A prior invitation to the African Cup of Nations was denied to Stockbrink because of an injury.
“We are still looking at him,” Zubairu said of Stockbrink.
Despite the fact that we invited him to AFCON on the advice of a few people. I haven’t watched him play. However, several people suggested him, so I replied, “Okay, let him come if he’s that good and they recommended him.
” However, he suffered an injury while we were in Casablanca, which prevented him from attending the AFCON, not even to prepare. But now he’s here. Since this is the first training, we will keep examining each one.
Zubairu’s confidence was clear when he was asked about the team’s chances of winning the World Cup, particularly after they advanced to the AFCON final.
“I think Nigeria should be confident that this team will prove their value if we can select our best players and if some of our best players are permitted to join us because we’ve been having a setback with their clubs in Europe,” he said.
Chile will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup starting on September 27.
