By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria’s U20 men’s national team, the Flying Eagles, secured a 2-1 victory over Capital City FC in a warm-up match held in Abuja, as part of their preparations for the upcoming 2025 WAFU U20 Championship in Ghana.
The friendly provided Head Coach Aliyu Zubairu with a valuable opportunity to assess his squad’s readiness ahead of the regional tournament.
While the Flying Eagles dominated proceedings, they were only able to convert two of several chances created — a detail the technical crew will be keen to fine-tune in the coming days.
The WAFU U20 Championship serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, where Nigeria remains the only West African nation to have secured qualification.
Coach Zubairu is expected to finalize his 23-man squad shortly, with competition heating up for a place on the team.
Nigeria has been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Ghana and the Benin Republic. The Flying Eagles will open their campaign on July 10 against Ghana, before taking on Benin Republic on July 13 in their final group match.
With their eyes firmly set on continental glory and global representation, the Flying Eagles will be looking to maintain momentum and sharpen their edge as they prepare to take the WAFU U20 Championship by storm.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
