Photo caption: Flying Eagles
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
The Flying Eagles led by coach Aliyu Zubairu will touch down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja today at 2:00 pm WAT after U20 AFCON podium finish. They will depart from their Guard Hotel for Cairo International Airport at 11:00 am Egyptian time, embarking on a four-hour flight aboard Egypt Airlines to return home.
The Flying Eagles beat hosts Egypt 4-1 on penalties after fulltime scores stood at 1-1 Sunday in a third-place match. It was the same position they achieved two years ago, also in Egypt. The team secured a hard-fought third-place finish at the just-concluded U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
The victory not only secured Nigeria’s 14th podium finish in U-20 AFCON history but also extended their strong record against host nations in the tournament, having beaten Egypt on home soil for the second consecutive edition.
Nigeria will fly Africa’s flag at this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, which kicks off in September.
South Africa is this year’s champions having beaten Morocco 1-0 in the finals. So South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt will also feature in the tournament.
