Flying Eagles set for tough Benin test

Flying Eagles arrived in Cotonou Saturday afternoon ahead of an AYC qualifier warm-up against hosts Benin the following day.

The test match will be played at the Stade Rene Pleven Cotonou 2 by 4pm.

It was the same venue both teams played out a 1-1 draw two years ago.

NFF president’s special adviser Patrick Pascal has warned the Flying Eagles should expect a physical challenge from the home team after he accompanied the Golden Eaglets to lose the Benin U17 in a WAFU B U17 Championship.

“They will not take this game as a friendly and they will most likely line up big and strong players like was the case against us in Togo,” warned the ex-international.

The home team had earlier planned to camp the Flying Eagles in Porto Novo, where they are also training, and both teams would then make the hour-long bus ride to Cotonou on match day.

However, coach Manu Garba kicked against this arrangement and the Flying Eagles were booked into Bresilia Hotel, which is a five-minute drive from the match venue.

Incidentally, Nigeria Premier League club El Kanemi Warriors stayed at this hotel for their pre-season training tour of Benin recently.

The Nigeria U20s could not train on Saturday evening as hoped because a league game was being played at the match venue.

They hope they could now shake up fatigue with an early Sunday morning session.

Coach Manu is expected to ring two changes to his settled first team with Izu Omego in for Zaharadeen Bello in the heart of the back four.

Ifeanyi Ifeanyi will also replace defensive midfielder Akinjide Idowu in the starting XI.

Both teams are using this match to prepare for this weekend’s AYC qualifiers.

Nigeria will be away to Tanzania, while Benin battle Congo also away from home.

Flying Eagles step up preparations

The Flying Eagles will step up their preparations for next month’s AYC qualifier with a test game against Nigeria National League (NNL) side Supreme Court of Abuja Thursday morning.

The match will be played at the Area A sports ground in Abuja and will kick off at 7am.

“Supreme Court will give us a good match as they are very much in the thick of action in the Nigeria National League,” said Flying Eagles co—ordinator Sulaiman Abubakar.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) also plan another international friendly for the team after the matches in Morocco before the AYC first leg qualifier either in Kenya or Tanzania.

Director of competitions, Mohammed Sanusi, restated the need for the team to be better prepared when he watched the team’s training.

The Flying Eagles trained on Wednesday morning at the Abuja National Stadium practise pitch.

Meanwhile, Denis Okon Nya, who featured at last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup in Abu Dhabi, will join up with the rest of the squad this week after he underwent trials at Austrian club Red Bull Salzsburg recently.

The left back trained briefly with the squad before he jetted out to Austria.