U20 AFCON: Uganda vs Nigeria Preview: Flying Eagles in make or mar duel

Nigeria U20 men’s national team will play against Uganda in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt.

The Flying Eagles are on the quest for the FIFA U20 World Cup with a confrontation with their archrivals, nd the Ugandan Cranes. This encounter is a decisive one. The winner of the contest will advance to the semifinal which also guarantees automatic qualification to the FIFA U20 World Cup in May.

The West Africans qualified for the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group A behind Senegal after winning two out of their three group matches after losing to the group leaders in their opening game.

On the other hand, Uganda were barely top of Group B, tied on points, goals scored and conceded with Congo. The Hippos of Uganda remain unbeaten in the tournament so far with one win and two draws.

However, this will be the first meeting between Nigeria and Uganda at this level as the Flying Eagles did not qualify for the last U20 AFCON which was Uganda’s first appearance.

The East Africans made statement in their maiden appearance as they went on to reach the final where they lost 2-0 to Ghana to finished as runners-up in 2021.

For Nigeria, they are record seven-time champions with their last triumph in 2015 and  will hope to build on the momentum of their two-game winning streak after beating Egypt and Mozambique.