22 Flying Eagles Call-Ups In Kaduna

Twenty two call-ups have so far reported to the Flying Eagles training camp in Kaduna, officials have disclosed.

The players include FC Porto striker Jacob Njoku, Musa Newman from Sunshine Stars, Prince Izu Omego, Wilfred Ndidi, Abdullahi Alfa, Ifeanyi Nweke, Tony Edjomariegwe and Mustapha Abdullahi.

Others are Sulaiman Abdullahi, Ifeanyi Matthew, Chisom Eze and Zaharadeen Bello

Flying Eagles

This training camp is for players who are based locally as another screening exercise will be conducted for overseas pros early in the New Year, according to coach Manu Garba.

The Nigeria U20s are preparing for the 2015 African Youth Championship slated for Senegal from March 8.

The top four semi-finalists at the AYC will represent Africa at the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Flying Eagles Qualify For 2015 AYC After Lesotho Walkover

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles on Saturday qualified for the 2015 African Youth Championship after they walked over Lesotho in Kaduna.

Match officials insisted till the last minute that they have not received any official notification that the first leg final qualifier has been called off after Lesotho expressed concerns over the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.

They therefore went through the traditional walkover ceremony that involved a 15-minute wait after the referee’s kick-off whistle.

Nigeria will thus join seven other countries including hosts Senegal for the 2015 AYC from March 8.

Coach Manu Garba

“Congratulations Nigeria on this qualification,” saluted Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba.

“We trained very hard in the last two months for this match and we would really have been a lot happier had we qualified for the AYC on the pitch and not in the boardroom.

“It was a bit of a disappointment that Lesotho failed to turn up, but there was nothing we could have done about that.”

Manu said the team will now decamp and regroup in time for the tournament proper.

The Flying Eagles therefore walloped Kaduna United second team 6-0 in a test game at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

Skipper Musa Muhammed and Sulaiman Abdullahi scored a brace each with Taiwo Awoniyi and Ifeanyi Matthew also getting on the scoreboard.

After near misses by Awoniyi, Alhassan Ibrahim aka Muazam and Abdullahi Alfa, whose shot in the 18th minute crashed against the crossbar, the Nigeria U20s took the lead in the 21st minute from the penalty spot taken by Muhammed after goal-bound Awoniyi was felled inside the box.

Muhammed doubled the lead seven minutes later when he cut through from the right flank before he fired home a tight angle.

Flying Eagles in Morocco

In the 31st minute Awoniyi rounded the Kaduna United goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

And eight minutes later, Ifeanyi Matthew slotted home another spot kick after Awoniyi was brought down and the goalkeeper was sent off.

Substitute striker Sulaiman Abdullahi scored twice in the 49th and 86th minutes after the Flying Eagles fluffed numerous chances.

FLYING EAGLES ARRIVE IN KADUNA FOR LESOTHO CLASH

Nigeria U20s, the Flying Eagles, arrived Kaduna Sunday afternoon after a short bus ride from Abuja ahead of a final 2015 AYC qualifier against Lesotho next weekend.

The squad of 25 players were led by coach Manu Garba.

Manu Garba

They are putting up at the African Continental Hotel in Kaduna, just as they did when they hosted Tanzania in the previous round of the AYC qualifiers.

The Flying Eagles will begin training on Monday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, where the qualifier against Lesotho will be played on Saturday.

The return leg match will be played a fortnight later in Maseru with the overall winners advancing to the 2015 AYC in Senegal in March. Lesotho are expected later in the week in Kaduna.

“We are very much at home in Kaduna after we thrashed Tanzania 4-1 in the previous round,” said defender Zaharadeen Bello.

“And we hope to again prove how much at home we are here with another convincing victory against Lesotho on Saturday.” Senegalese referees have been appointed for the match.

In the meantime, midfielder Abdullahi Alfa is expected to join the squad on Monday after undergoing trials in Norway. He is the only player on the 25-man squad named at the weekend who is yet to be in Kaduna.

Chidera Eze shines in Flying Eagles training match

FC Porto of Portugal forward Chidera Eze scored a brace for the B team in Friday morning’s Flying Eagles training at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

Eze, who did not make the trip to Tanzania last week, showed he has recovered fully from a hamstring injury with two well-taken goals for the second team.

“I am happy my boy is coming back to life,” said a big smiling coach Manu Garba.

The first team, which was the same team who started in Tanzania minus injured Wilfred Ndidi, eventually won this training game 3-2 with a brace by Taiwo Awoniyi and a rare strike by Abdullahi Alfa.

First-choice goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo was outstanding as he pulled off several big saves.

The training was for two hours with Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho again skipping the work out.

The Flying Eagles will train again at the same venue Saturday morning as they step up preparations for next weekend’s African Youth Championship second round, return leg match against Tanzania.

Nigeria won the first leg 2-0 in Dar es Salaam.

The overall winners of this match-up with battle the overall winners of another second round fixture between Lesotho and Angola with the winners qualifying for the 2015 AYC in Senegal in March.

Lesotho won the first leg 3-1 at home.

Flying Eagles off to bright start in AYC qualifiers

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles got off to a bright start in the 2015 AYC qualifiers after they beat hosts Tanzania 2-0 in Dar es Salaam in a second round, first leg clash on Sunday.

The Flying Eagles scored in the 49th minute through Musa Yahaya and killed off the contest in the 82nd minute courtesy of striker Taiwo Awoniyi.

“This win away from home is very, very good for us going into the return leg match in Nigeria,” Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba told reporters after the match watched by a fair crowd at the 60,000-capacity National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

“Tanzania also showed they are a very good side, but they will have to work on their finishing.

“Overall, it was the better team that won even though I was not completely satisfied with the final 15 minutes of the game as we sat back in our defence.”

However, Ngorongoro of Tanzania coach John Simkoko insisted they have not given up hope and said they will battle in the return match in Nigeria in a fortnight.

“Nigeria were the better team and deserved to win,” he admitted.

“But the battle is not over yet as we will come prepared to Nigeria.”

It was a goalless first half, but Nigeria enjoyed more of the ball possession and created more chances with their biggest opening coming after 24 minutes, when Musa Yahaya blasted wide from inside the six-yard.

Newly drafted striker Saad Kipanga from Mbeya City also had a glorious chance to put his team ahead after just five minutes, but his header from inside the box missed its target.

The home team suffered a major blow when first-choice goalkeeper and skipper Aishi Manula could not continue after a thigh injury in the first period.

He was therefore replaced by Peter Manyika for the resumption of the second half.

Four minutes after the break, Tanzania’s worst fears came to be as Musa Yahaya slotted past the goalkeeper from the near post after a low cross by skipper Musa Muhammed.

Kelechi Iheanacho, who replaced Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ for the second half, was denied a goal in the 54th minute by a piece of brilliant goalkeeping by Manyika.

Flying Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo ensured he kept a clean sheet when he made a big save in 67th minute and he will again pull off another save late on as Tanzania attacked.

But Awoniyi killed off the tie eight minutes from time, when he held off his marker and stand-in captain Pato Ngonyani, before he slotted past the onrushing goalkeeper.

The home team created several openings late on to at least reduce the tally, but Abdallah Kheri and Juma Liuzio both failed to find target from inside the 18-yard box.

Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (skipper), Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi Alfa, Musa Yahaya (Chidiebere Nwakali 74) – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ (Kelechi Iheanacho 46), Taiwo Awoniyi

Manu keeps faith with Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Coach Manu Garba has kept faith with the team who lost last week’s warm-up against Benin 1-0 in Cotonou.

This means Manchester City duo of Kelchi Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali will start from the bench as they did in Cotonou.

Manu had toyed with the idea of starting both players, but has eventually chosen a more cautious approach as his team are playing away from home.

His 4-4-2 formation diamond will see Wilfred Ndidi partner Izu Omego in the heart of the back four, while Akinjide Idowu will be the ball winner for a talented midfield that boasts Musa Yahaya and playmaker Ifeanyi Matthew.

Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ and Taiwo Awoniyi will lead the Flying Eagles charge for goals.

Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (skipper), Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi Alfa, Musa Yahaya – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’, Taiwo Awoniyi

Tanzania bullish ahead AYC qualifier

Both the Tanzania U20 team and the local papers here in Dar es Salaam are talking confidently ahead of Sunday’s AYC qualifier against the Flying Eagles.

Coach of the Ngorongoro Heroes, John Simkoko, said they hope to win against mighty Nigeria.

“It’s going to be a great test for us, we all know that Nigeria have a strong team that boast a lot of experience playing in the competition, but we’ve got to rise to the occasion,” said Simkoko.

“We have set our focus on eliminating them as we want to reach the finals, and to achieve our mission we have to beat them on Sunday.”

The Citizen on Sunday headlined its preview ‘Heroes out to tame Eagles’ and The Sunday News titled theirs ‘Heroes out to gun down Eagles’.

Both previews spoke of the Flying Eagles awesome record in this competition, but the host team could still shock them on Sunday.

Benin shock Flying Eagles in warm-up

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles Class of 2015 suffered their first defeat when they fell 1-0 to hosts Benin in an AYC warm-up in Cotonou on Sunday.

“We had a poor first half, but in the second half, we controlled the game. We had a much, much better second half,” said Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba.

“The home team adopted delay tactics after they scored and the referee ought to have given the goalkeeper at least a yellow card for time wasting, but he did not.

“All the same, we will put this loss behind us and shift our attention to the match in Tanzania this coming weekend.
“We hope to win in Tanzania so that the second leg in Nigeria will be a mere formality.”

Benin match winner was skipper Seibou Mama, who fired home past goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo in the 48th minute from distance.
It was the only shot at target by the home team, who started three Europe-based stars including Moise Adilehou from FC Porto.
The visiting Nigeria U20s thereafter piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser.

Outstanding goalkeeper Sheyi Damilola, one of several players with Nigerian roots, again ensured Benin recorded another famous win over Nigeria just after he stopped the Golden Eaglets at the WAFU B tournament in Togo.

The former Bolowotan FC of Lagos shot stopper made a double save after 55 minutes after Taiwo Awoniyi saw his shot crash against the post.

Wilfred Ndidi and substitute Kelechi Iheanacho also had openings to draw the Flying Eagles level but Damilola was at his best.
The Flying Eagles started the first half on the front foot with Alhassan Ibrahim aka Mu-azam first to shoot at goal after two minutes, but his shot screamed across the face of goal.

Benin full international coach Didier Olle-Nicolle and Eagles assistant coach Valere were in the stands to watch the match.
Awoniyi had two chances to score in the first 45 minutes with his miss in the 39th minute, when he was all alone, but he ballooned his lob well off the mark.

And a minute from half time, Musa Yahaya’s audacious effort narrowly missed target.

Flying Eagles vs Benin
Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (skipper), Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi Alfa, Musa Yahaya (Kelechi Iheanacho 57) – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’(Sulaiman Abdullahi 57, Chidiebere Nwakali 77)
Booking: Mustapha Abdullahi 28

Flying Eagles pick Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya for Benin warm-up

The Nigeria U20 team have named a 20-man squad for Sunday’s warm-up match against their Benin Republic counterparts in Porto Novo.

Among those picked were the country’s heroes from last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup-winning team like Kelechi Iheanacho, skipper Musa Muhammed, Chidiebere Nwakali, Musa Yahaya, Taiwo Awoniyi, Abdullahi Alfa and Zaharadeen Bello.

Others on the squad are Alhassan Ibrahim aka Mu-azam, Wilfred Ndidi, Ifeanyi Matthew and goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo.

The test match will be played at Charles de Gaulle Stadium in Porto Novo from 4pm local time, which is the same time with Nigeria.

Both teams have clashed at the same level previously.

They drew 1-1 in Cotonou in September 2012 and a rematch in Abuja ended in a goalless draw.

Two players will then be dropped from the squad for the 2015 AYC qualifier in Tanzania in the weekend of May 9-11.

NFF executive committee member Shehu Adamu will lead the team to both Benin and Tanzania.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Joshua Enaholo, Adamu Abubakar, Abdulazeez Abubakar

Defenders: Musa Muhammed, Mustapha Abdullahi, Ifeanyi Nweke, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego, Zaharadeen Bello

Midfielders: Chidiebere Nwakali, Musa Yahaya, Kelechi Iheanacho, Abdullahi Alfa, Akinjide Idowu, Wasiu Jimoh, Ifeanyi Matthew, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi

Strikers: Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’, Taiwo Awoniyi, Sulaiman Abdullahi

FLYING EAGLES TACKLE ABUJA FOOTBALL COLLEGE

The Flying Eagles will face Abuja Football College in another tune-up match on Wednesday morning at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja.

The match will kick off at 7.30am.

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba said he hopes the football academy now famous for producing the likes of Dele Alampasu and Abdullahi Alfa will give his team a good test as they build up for next month’s 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier against either Kenya or Tanzania.

The winners of the first round AYC qualifier between Kenya and Tanzania will be decided this coming weekend after both teams played out a goalless draw in the first leg in Kenya two weeks ago.

The Flying Eagles, who have not broke camp for the Ester holidays, trained on Monday morning at the Abuja National Stadium practice pitch and will also do same on Tuesday.

Cheering news for the Nigeria U20s was that Manchester City midfielder Chidiebere Nwakali kicked a football for the first time since he joined the team to show he has fully recovered from a knee injury.

However, Bernard Bulbwa, Chidera Eze and Ahmed Umar are still trying to recover from various injuries.

Bulbwa is nursing a groin injury, Eze has a hamstring strain and Ahmed Umar is suffering from a knee complaint.

Flying Eagles Trash FC Twente Abuja 11-0

The Flying Eagles continued their buildup for next month’s AYC qualifier with an 11-0 pounding of FC Twente of Abuja on Thursday morning.

FC Twente were a last-minute replacement for Nigeria National League side Supreme Court FC of Abuja.

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba said the test game will enhance team confidence and team building as they hope to get tougher opposition in the coming days.

“We should not read much into the outcome of this match. We are still gradually building for the task ahead and hope to face tougher opponents in the coming days,” Manu said.

The Nigeria U20s will tackle Nationwide side Dabo Babes of Kano on Saturday morning at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja in another test game.

On Thursday, Kelechi Iheanacho scored a brace, while there were nine other different scorers on the day.

Lanky striker Abubakar Lawal opened scoring after five minutes, when he was set up by fellow striker Sulaiman Abdullahi.

But it was not until the 28th minute that the Flying Eagles doubled their lead through skipper Musa Muhammed, who flicked home a low corner by Iheanacho.

Four minutes later, Sulaiman Abdullahi’s half volley made it 3-0, before Wilfred Ndidi increased the tally on 38 minutes.

Ifeanyi Matthew smashed home the fifth goal five minutes from the break after he was released by Iheanacho.

Two minutes after the interval, left back Mustapha Abdullahi netted a rare goal for the Flying Eagles.

Iheanacho scored his first goal in the 52nd with a powerful shot from outside the box, before substitute Antony Omaka flicked home a header a minute later.

Iheanacho completed his brace in the 55th minute when he fired home from an acute angle.

Substitute David Okereke also scored from a tight ankle in the 70th minute.

Flying Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo displayed great concentration when he blocked a goal-bound effort for a corner a minute later.

Substitute Victory Omodiagbe completed the demolition job on the stroke of time with a well-taken shot.

Flying Eagles vs FC Twente

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed, Mustapha Abdullahi (Sirajo Mazadu 48), Wilfred Ndidi (Izu Omego 62), Zaharadeen Bello (Ifeanyi Nweke 48) – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Kelechi Iheanacho (David Okereke 62), Abdullahi Alfa (Anthony Omaka 43) – Abubakar Lawal (Wasiu Jimoh 43), Sulaiman Abdullahi (Victory Omodiagbe 48)

Alampasu leads 20 Eaglets to Flying Eagles

Goalkeeper Sunday Alampasu will lead 19 other players from the Golden Eaglets to the Flying Eagles training camp in Abuja.

Alampasu was named best goalkeeper at last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup and was also picked for the country’s squad to the recent CHAN in South Africa.

Some of the other players invited are Wilfred Ndidi, Abdullahi Alfa, Akinjide Idowu, Saviour Godwin, Aliyu Abubakar, Chigozie Obasi, Dennis Okon Nya and Zaraddeen Bello.

They are latest Wednesday to join 35 other players who were picked from a two-week open trial in Abuja.

The Flying Eagles under coach Manu Garba have been training for a third week in Abuja ahead of a 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier against either Kenya or Tanzania in May.

Kenya and Tanzania will do battle next month for the right to face six-time African Youth Champions Nigeria in May with the overall winners advancing to the final qualifying round in August.

The invitees:

Goakeepers: Dele Alampasu, Abdulazeez Abubakar

Defenders: Wilfred Ndidi, Prince Izu Omego, Dennis Okon Nya

Midfielders: Clement Ogbobe, Akinjide Idowu, Aliyu Abubakar, Abdullahi Alfa, Ifeanyi Matthew, Zaraddeen Bello, Emmanuel Asadu, Prince Bonkat, Mustapha Abdullahi, Chigozie Obasi

Strikers: Saviour Godwin, Nafiu Kabuga, Ahmed Umar, Bernard Bulbwa, Chinedu Enedemu