Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying Eagles, flew into the Egyptian port city, Alexandria on Saturday after a four-and-half hour flight from Kano, and immediately settled down to business ahead of a two –match program against the Junior Pharaohs of Egypt.
Officials of the Egyptian FA received the Nigeria delegation on Saturday. The Flying Eagles’ players and officials are staying at the Tulip Hotel in Alexandria.
On Monday, 26th March, both teams go for each other’s jugular at the Borg El-Arab Stadium, the famous cauldron where the Pharaohs defeated Congo 2-1 to in November to reach their first FIFA World Cup finals in 28 years.
Commissioned in 2007, it is an all-seater 86,000 –capacity venue, making it the second biggest in Africa after Johannesburg’s Soccer City. Both the Flying Eagles and the Pharaohs will clash again at the same venue on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Head Coach Paul Aigbogun has picked Enyimba FC defender Ikouwem Utin as team captain. Utin shone for the Super Eagles B at the 5thAfrican Nations Championship in Morocco earlier in the year, after stepping up from the bench to take the place of injured Daniel Itodo following the group stage matches.
While the Flying Eagles are preparing to play the winner of Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau in the second round of the 2019 Africa U20 Cup of Nations qualification series in mid-May, the Pharaohs already know they will be up against Senegal’s Junior Lions of the Teranga for a place in the final qualifying campaign.
