Nigeria U20 men’s Head Coach, Aliyu Zubair, has listed Molde FK midfielder Daniel Daga and 20 others in his final squad for this month’s U20 World Cup in Chile, www.aclsports.com reports.
The former Enyimba midfielder, who impressed at the last tournament in Argentina two years ago, has made a sensational return to the squad for this edition. He is also joined by the skipper of the side, Daniel Bameyi, who recently sealed a move to Slovenian side Primorje Ajdovščina.
First-choice goalkeeper Ifeanyi Harcourt, who was part of the squad for the last U20 Boys tournament in Ghana and the CHAN tournament in East Africa, is also part of the squad. At the same time, Bayelsa United’s goalkeeper Clinton Ezekiel has also been given a shirt in the team.
Daga is not the only Norway-based player called by Zubair as striker Kparobo Arierhi was also included. Sporting Lagos left back Odinaka Okoro and experienced Remo Stars defender Ahmed Akinyele, after a stellar performance at the U20 Boys cup in Ghana, have been added to the team alongside Freedom Marvellous of Ikorodu City.
Meanwhile, Sani Suleiman – who dazzled in the colours of Akwa United in the second half of the 2023/24 NPFL season- has earned a call-up to the team, alongside striker Charles Agada.
Aliyu Zubair’s side have been placed in group F alongside Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia. Nigeria is one of the four countries to fly Africa’s flag, with African U20 champions South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt the others. The Flying Eagles have finished as runners-up twice in 1989 and 2005, and they reached the last eight in the previous edition.
The tournament is scheduled for 27th September – 19th October, and matches will take place in Santiago, Rancagua, Valparaíso, and Talca – all located in the centre of the country.
21 FLYING EAGLES FOR CHILE 2025:
Goalkeepers: Ifeanyi Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Rufai Abubakar (Mavlon FC); Clinton Ezekiel (Bayelsa United).
Defenders: Odinaka Okoro (Sporting Lagos); Daniel Bameyi (Primorje Ajdovščina, Slovenia); Freedom Marvellous (Ikorodu City); Ahmed Akinyele (Remo Stars); Azuka Alanta (Hypebuzz Academy); Amos Echoche (Stade Reims B, France)
Midfielders: Israel Isaac Ayuma (NK Istra, Croatia); Emmanuel Ekele (PFC Montana, Bulgaria); Kamaldeen Mustapha (Kwara Football Academy); Auwal Ibrahim (unattached); Daniel Daga (Molde, Norway).
Forwards: Tahir Maigana (Wireless FC); Kparobo Nathaniel Arierhi (Lillestrom SK, Norway); Orseer Achihi (Royal Antwerp, Belgium); Sani Suleiman (AS Trencin, Slovakia); Charles Agada (NK Istra, Croatia); Nasiru Salihu (NK Gabala, Azerbaijan); Shittu Abdullahi.
