Nigeria’s U20 boys, the Flying Eagles, have departed the country for Chile, where they will hold a 12-day final training camp ahead of this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup finals.
The seven-time African champions will play all their Group F matches at the Estadio Fiscal in Talca, a city about 250 kilometres from the capital, Santiago.
A contingent of 20 players and 11 officials left Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Sunday evening aboard a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, before connecting to Santiago.
The team trained in Abuja for several weeks before departure and will now intensify preparations in Chile.
In a similar vein, NFF has confirmed that the U20 boys, Flying Eagles, will face Chile and Australia in friendlies ahead of this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup finals.
Head of International Competitions, Dayo Enebi, said the matches will help the two-time World Cup silver medallists sharpen their skills and boost competition readiness.
Nigeria will first take on host nation Chile on Saturday, 20th September. The South Americans are drawn in Group A alongside New Zealand, Japan and Egypt.
The FIFA U20 World Cup, first launched in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Tournament in Tunisia, has grown into a global showcase of young talent.
Nigeria’s pedigree at the U20 World Cup includes silver medals in 1989 and 2005, and a bronze finish in 1985 when the tournament was hosted by the USSR.
