Nigeria’s U20 boys, the Flying Eagles, have kicked off preparations in Accra, Ghana, ahead of the 2024 WAFU B U20 Championship, scheduled to run from July 10 to 23.

Originally planned as a joint competition involving nations from both WAFU A and WAFU B zones, the tournament has now been streamlined to feature only WAFU B countries, with Ghana’s capital city playing host.

Head Coach Aliyu Zubairu has named a 20-man squad led by captain Daniel Bameyi, with several familiar faces returning from the team that finished third at the 2023 Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt, securing Nigeria’s ticket to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile later this year.

Notable returnees include goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt, defender Odinaka Okoro, and midfielders Bidemi Amole, Ezekiel Kpangu, Divine Oliseh, and Tahir Maigana.

The squad also welcomes a fresh crop of talents such as Clinton Andy (goalkeeper, Bayelsa United), defenders Abba Sadiq and Marvelous Freedom, midfielder Abduljelil Kamaldeen, and forwards Imrana Muhammad and Qudus Olayiwola.

The Flying Eagles, champions of the last two editions of the WAFU B U20 Championship (hosted by Niger Republic in 2022 and Togo in 2020), will begin their title defence against hosts Ghana in the tournament’s opening match at the Prampram Centre in Accra on Thursday, July 10 at 3:00 pm.

They will face Benin Republic in their second and final Group A match on Sunday, July 13.

Group B features Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Togo, with the Ivorians and Burkinabes squaring off in the group’s opening encounter also on Thursday.

20 FLYING EAGLES IN GHANA FOR WAFU B U20 TOURNAMENT:

Goalkeepers: Ifeanyi Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Clinton Andy (Bayelsa United)

Defenders: Abba Khalid Sadiq (Niger Tornadoes); Odinaka Okoro (Sporting Lagos); Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United); Akinniran Oluwashile (Water FC); Ahmed Akinyele (Remo Stars); Marvelous Freedom (Ikorodu City)

Midfielders: Divine Oliseh (Forster Academy); Bidemi Amole (Real Sapphire FC); Tahir Maigana (Wireless FC); Ezekiel Kpangu (Inspire Academy); Rawa Mohammed (Beyond Limits); Matthew Kingsley (Kings FC); Abduljelil Kamaldeen (Kwara Football Academy); Shafiu Adamu Duguri (Wikki Tourists)

Forwards: Abdullahi Muhammed (Kwara United); Godday Otalyul-Imbus (Calabar Rovers); Imrana Muhammad (Mavlon FC); Qudus Olayiwola (P Sport FC) 

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Slippery forward Kparobo Arierhi netted a brace as champions Nigeria successfully defended their WAFU U20 title on Wednesday night after a 2-1 defeat of regional rivals Ghana in this year’s final in Lome.

 The Flying Eagles dominated large swatches of the encounter, but it turned out a game of two halves Nigeria were imperious in the first half and Ghana turned on the heat in the second.

 Harcourt came up with a clever palm-down when the Ghanaians broke through from the left with a cross and a header in the 14^th minute, and then punched the ball away after a point-blank shot as the Satellites waltzed their way into the box from the right in added time.

 In-between, Kparobo Arierhi had concluded the damage. First, in the 34^th minute, he received a pass on the edge of the box as the Flying Eagles broke forward on the right, and scored with the trusted poacher’s calm, left-footed finish into the bottom corner, with the goalkeeper clutching grass.

The second was more spectacular. Nigerian manfully snatched the ball half-way into the Satellites’ area, and a couple of passes left Kparobo, who plays his club football for Beyond Limits FC, and had scored Nigeria’s winner in the 2-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the group phase, face to face with the goalkeeper. Without any attempt at showboating, he unleashed a right-footed rocket right into the roof of the net.

On the hour, Nigeria had to spiritedly clear their lines as the Black Satellites, in a rare onslaught, picked the pockets of several defenders and got the ball past goalkeeper Harcourt.

Five minutes later, Nigeria again escaped through stout defending as a flurry of shots from inside and outside the box simply failed to get the ball beyond Harcourt.  

The pressure finally paid off for the Ghanaians in the 74^th minute, as they reduced the tally following a goalmouth melee.

However, the Flying Eagles held on to retain their trophy won two years ago in Niger Republic, and with Kparobo Arierhi collecting the Man-of-the-Match award.

Nigeria and Ghana will represent WAFU B at next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations, to be hosted by South Africa.

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have beaten Ghana 2-1 to win the Under -20 WAFU Zone B  Cup. They therefore go to the Under -20 Africa Cup of Nations as champions. Ghana as runners-up also qualified.

Nigeria’s two goals came in the opening 15 minutes of the match while Ghana reduced the tally with less than 15 minutes to regulation time.