Nigeria U20 side, also known as the Flying Eagles, have been handed, on paper, a favourable draw for this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, www.aclsports.com reports.
Aliyu Zubairu’s side have been placed in group F alongside Norway, Saudi Arabia and Colombia. The draw took place in Santiago, the capital city of Chile, on Thursday evening.
The Flying Eagles finished third at the last U20 AFCON, and will now face teams from Europe, Asia and South America in the group stages.
Norway are making their fourth appearance in the competition and they have never made it out of the group. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia are making their 10th appearance, but their best finish in the tournament is a place in the round of 16 (twice).
It is Colombia’s 12th appearance at the tourney, and they last got a podium finish in 2003 when they finished third. Meanwhile, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria have finished as runners-up twice in 1989 and 2005.
Nigeria is one of the four countries to fly Africa’s flag, with African U20 champions South Africa, Morocco and Egypt the others.
The mention of ‘Chile’ evokes warm memories amongst Nigerians, as they remember that it was in that country, 10 years ago, that Super Eagles’ ace Victor Osimhen announced himself to the world, winning the Golden Boot for the top scorer with an awesome 10 goals and the Silver Ball for second best player as Nigeria won her fifth FIFA U17 World Cup title.
Group C – Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Morocco – has been tagged the “group of death” of the tournament. The Moroccans are AFCON runners-up, while Mexico, Spain and Brazil come into the tournament as champions of their respective continents.
In addition, New Caledonia is the only country that will debut at the tournament scheduled for 27th September – 19th October.
Matches will take place in Santiago, Rancagua, Valparaíso, Talca – all located in the centre of the country.
