Bosso confident of U-20 AFCON triumph

Flying Eagles head coach Isah Ladan Bosso says he is confident about the readiness of his boys to replicate their WAFU B U-20 Championship mentality at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The Nigeria U-20 side landed in Casablanca, Morocco’s capital on Friday for a one-week final training camp ahead of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations scheduled to take place in Egypt from Saturday, February 18 to Sunday, March 12, 2023.

Nigeria’s U-20 boys, Flying Eagles defeated the Young Squirrels of Benin Republic 3-1 in the final of the 2022 WAFU B U-20 Championship in Niamey, capital of Niger Republic.

“We have been able to sustain the same mood we had in camp before going for the WAFU B U-20 Championship in Niamey, which we won. Since then, we have played a series of matches and scored plenty of goals, and that is immense for a winning mentality to stay within a team.

“However, we are not going to under-rate any of our opponents. Defeating Zambia in Abuja was good for confidence but we know the championship mood would be tougher. We will be ready to make the country proud.”

The two-time FIFA World Cup runners-up and one-time bronze medallists will play their first match against Senegal’s Cub Lions on Sunday, February, 19 at the Cairo International Stadium.

The Flying Eagles will then face hosts Egypt on Wednesday, February 22 and Mozambique on Saturday, February 25, both matches to be played at the Cairo International Stadium.

All four semi-finalists at the 12-team championship in Egypt will qualify to fly Africa’s flag at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals to be staged in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11 this year.