Head coach of Nigeria’s U20 side, Aliyu Zubairu, has assured that his side will be much better when they take on South Africa’s Amajita in the first semi-final of the ongoing CAF U20 Cup of Nations on Thursday evening, www.aclsports.com.
The Flying Eagles defeated defending champions Senegal on penalties in their quarterfinal clash on Monday to reach the last four, where they will face South Africa. Consequently, the win over Senegal also secured Nigeria’s place at this year’s World Cup in Chile.
Zubair, while speaking to NFF media ahead of the game against the South Africans, said the approach of his side will be better after securing the all-important World Cup ticket.
“I believe we are going to have a great semi-final against the South Africans. I can guarantee that our approach will be much better, as the anxiety of whether or not we will earn a FIFA World Cup ticket is no longer there. It was a tense 120 minutes for us and the defending champions on Monday.
“We have the World Cup ticket now and are quite happy. Against South Africa, we will play with great determination and composure, as we aim for the trophy, but without the tense atmosphere around the last match. Of course, we know the little matter of the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa and what the game means, and we will go in there to do a real battle,” the Elkanemi Warriors handler said on Tuesday.
In 2009, Nigeria defeated South Africa 2-1 for bronze, and four years later defeated Mali by the same margin to also pick up the bronze medals in Algeria. As hosts in 2011, the Amajita crashed out at the group stage after winning one and losing two matches, while Nigeria roared to her sixth title with a 3-2 defeat of Cameroon in the final in Soweto.
In 2019, in Niger Republic, Nigeria defeated South Africa 5-3 after penalty shootout to win the bronze medals, after both teams had tied scoreless in a group phase encounter.
Nigeria, who have won the African title seven times, finished as runners-up on two occasions (1999 and 2007), and as bronze medallists on two other occasions as well (2009 and 2013).
Meanwhile, hosts and four-time winners Egypt will take on Morocco in the other semifinal in Cairo.
