Nigeria Flying Eagles coach Zubairu reveals squad selection plans after 2-0 win over Cote d’Ivoire

Flying Eagles coach Aliyu Zubairu has expressed satisfaction following his team’s 2-0 victory over Ivory Coast in their first pre-U20 Africa Cup of Nations friendly match on Wednesday night, Footynaija.com reports.

Second-half goals from captain Daniel Bamayi (from the spot) and Divine Oliseh secured a deserved win for Nigeria at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, offering a morale boost as the team continues preparations for the CAF U20 tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.

International Friendly: Nigeria thrash Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 in Abidjan

The Flying Eagles were emphatic 2-0 winners over hosts Young Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the first of two international friendly matches at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in the heart of the Ivorian capital… pic.twitter.com/qNLHfHs0vu

— Adepoju Tobi Samuel (@OgaNlaMedia) February 26, 2025

The friendly match served as a key opportunity for Zubairu and his technical team to assess both returning and new players aiming to make the final squad.

In his post-match reaction, Zubairu downplayed the result, instead highlighting the team’s ongoing rebuilding process.

We are incredibly proud of Ebenezer and Odinaka, who, alongside the Flying Eagles of Nigeria, secured a victory against Côte d’Ivoire’s U-20 team in the first leg of their international friendly matches yesterday.

Well done, boys!

Keep making us proud

@thenff pic.twitter.com/icdWK1Gopc

— Sporting Lagos (@SportingLagos) February 27, 2025

“My reaction to today’s game wouldn’t be that important as it is at this level — in as much as we are still in a building process,” he said.

“We came here for the friendly match to be able to know the level at which some of the old players that went to WAFU-B are and the new ones that want to join us.

“If any of those that went to WAFU-B can’t meet up with the standard we are looking for, he will be replaced, and so are the new ones if you can’t fit in. We still have to keep setting until we get a balanced team for the U20.”

The Flying Eagles coach also revealed that several foreign-based players are expected to bolster the squad once they regroup after a short break.

“We are expecting a lot of players, particularly those who have taken their careers abroad, that are eligible.

“We are expecting a reasonable number of them that will join us as soon as we go back to Nigeria. We are planning to go on a week break, so from there, when we regroup, that’s when we start expecting the foreign-based players to come.”

Won The 2024 Nigeria FA Cup✅

Promoted El-Kanemi To The NPFL✅

Aliyu Zubairu has been appointed the new head coach of the Flying Eagles pic.twitter.com/sIdwozFWKx

— Walter Odigie (@Odigie_Walter) September 3, 2024

With another friendly match against Ivory Coast scheduled for Friday, Zubairu stressed the importance of testing different tactical systems ahead of the tournament.

“We are still going to approach Friday’s match with seriousness because we adopted a tactic that we try to look if it’s going to work during the AFCON proper.

“So we are going to go for another tactics to see so that we can have a plan A and B — should in case plan A fail us as a team, so we can quickly switch to plan B.”

The Flying Eagles will hope to build on their positive start when they take on the Young Elephants again at 3:30 PM Ivorian time (4:30 PM Nigeria time) at the same venue, as preparations for the U20 AFCON continue.