Head coach of the Norwegian U-20 team, Bjorn Johansen, has admitted his awareness of the threat the Flying Eagles of Nigeria pose ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup opener, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Scandinavians will be making their 4th appearance at the U-20 World Cup, and are keen on making a mark after a 5th place finish in last year’s G19 European Championship.
Aliyu Zubairu’s team finished third at the AFCON U-20 tournament in Egypt earlier this year, and that earned them a place to compete in Chile.
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Nigeria have been drawn into Group F alongside Norway, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.
Johansen prepared for Flying Eagles clash
The 56-year-old coach mentioned his side have put preparations in top gear, and are ready to fight against Nigeria.
“It has been very good. We have had perfect conditions, everyone is healthy and ready to fight, and we have put in place what we want to put in place,” the former Tromso midfielder said in quotes revealed by the Norway FA official website.
“Now it is a matter of finding the balance between having great fun at the same time as not using up our energy before the match starts.”
Quizzed about the threat Nigeria poses, Johansen mentioned the Flying Eagles will be a tough opponent to take on.
“Nigeria is perhaps the team that has been the most difficult to analyse. They are very unpredictable.
“We know that it will be physical and that it will be hard to compete in the duels, and that they have a high tempo in their team.
“If we can control phases and play more on our terms, the chance of us coming out on top increases.
We will almost have to wait until tomorrow to see how Nigeria will fare. We are prepared for different scenarios and will have enough preparedness to handle what is coming,” the former Fredrikstad manager concluded.
The fixture tonight is set to be played at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca in Chile with kick-off time slated for 9:00PM WAT.