Flying Eagles Coach Zubairu Aims for World Cup Ticket as Nigeria Face Tunisia in U-20 AFCON Opener

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will begin their 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign on Thursday with a match against Tunisia at the June 30 Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.

Head coach Aliyu Zubairu has made it clear that the main goal for his team is to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will take place in Chile later this year. The top four teams at the U-20 AFCON will automatically qualify for the tournament.

Nigeria, who have won the competition seven times, are seen as one of the favourites to win again this year. However, Coach Zubairu said their focus is first on getting to the semi-finals to secure a World Cup spot.

“We don’t want to put too much pressure on the boys to win the trophy right away. The first goal is to get a World Cup ticket,” Zubairu told NFF TV.

“If we reach the semi-finals, then we’ll sit down and talk about winning the title, but for now, it’s all about qualifying for the World Cup,” he added.

Zubairu said the team is well prepared after training in Abuja and Kastina before arriving in Egypt for the tournament.

“We’ve trained well. From Abuja to Kastina, and back to Abuja before coming to Egypt. Now we’re ready for the first match against Tunisia,” he said.

Nigeria have a good record against Tunisia at this level, with two wins and a draw in past meetings. They beat Tunisia 4-0 in the third-place match of the U-20 AFCON held in Egypt two years ago.

Zubairu believes that victory can inspire his team, even though both teams are different now.

“There is no pressure on us. That win two years ago is a good motivation, even if we don’t rely too much on the past,” he said.

“They are a different team now, but history can help to motivate players, so we’ll use it as a source of confidence.”

The Flying Eagles will be looking to start their tournament strongly with a win over Tunisia as they push for a place in this year’s U-20 World Cup.