Against Dominican Republic, the Flying Eagles start their quest for their first World Cup

When Sunday’s match kicks off at the Estadio Malvinas Argentina in Mendoza, Nigeria, which has twice advanced to the age-grade competition’s final — in 1989 and 2005 — will be looking to go one step further.

The Flying Eagles face the Dominican Republic in their opening game of the 2023 World Cup, where they will start their quest for their first U-20 World Cup crown.

When Sunday’s match kicks off at the Estadio Malvinas Argentina in Mendoza, Nigeria, which has twice advanced to the age-grade competition’s final — in 1989 and 2005 — will be looking to go one step further.

Nigeria is one of four teams that will represent the continent in the South American country after placing third at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations on the way to the championship.

The Africans are favored against Walter Bentez’s team and are aware that a victory over them will give Nigeria a strong chance to advance from Group D, which also contains Brazil and Italy.

Coach Ladan Bosso acknowledges that despite Nigeria playing their rivals for the first time 13 times in the competition, it won’t be an easy game. On the other hand, he thinks the team has more confidence now as a result of the pre-tournament games.

The NFF reported him as stating, “As I already said, we are pleased with the results from the two friendly matches we played in Buenos Aires.

“We drew with the Colombia U20 team, which is also competing in this competition, after winning one match against an Argentine club. Not awful outcomes, those.

The results have given us confidence that we can complete the task, more than anything else. We will maintain our winning attitude if we defeat the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

We are determined to win on Sunday because it is a factor that matters in championships.

It is anticipated that Victor Eletu, a player from Italy who later joined the team, will provide the Flying Eagles’ side the much-needed depth.

At the back, Daniel Bameyi, Abel Ogwuche, Benjamin Frederick, and Solomon Agbalaka for Nigeria are expected to be paired with the Chijioke Aniagbosos in goal.

The likely starters for the match are Ibrahim Muhammad, Samson Lawal, and Jude Sunday.

Time of the U-20 match between Nigeria and the Dominican Republic

At 7:00 pm (WAT), the U-20 World Cup 2023 match between Dominican Republic and Nigeria will get underway.

The Flying Eagles’ subsequent play comes on May 24 against Italy, followed by a match against Brazil three days later.