Following the cancellation of their planned friendly matches against Egypt’s U20 team, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has secured a replacement opponent for the Flying Eagles. The seven-time African champions will now face AFCON 2025 host nation, Cote d’Ivoire, in two friendly matches.
The matches are scheduled for Wednesday, 26th February, and Friday, 28th February 2025, in Abidjan, as part of Nigeria’s preparations for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations.
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Aliyu Lawal Ibrahim, Team Administrator of the Nigeria U20 side, confirmed that the squad—currently in camp in Abuja—will depart for Abidjan on Monday, 24th February.
The team has been in training for weeks following Head Coach Aliyu Zubairu’s call-up of 30 players in preparation for the original fixtures against Egypt’s Young Pharaohs.
The Flying Eagles have recent success against Cote d’Ivoire, having defeated them 2-1 in the group stage of the WAFU B U20 Championship in Togo last October—a result that propelled them to the semi-finals and ultimately led to their title defense.
Historically, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire have clashed in high-stakes encounters at this level. Forty-two years ago, Nigeria edged out the Ivorians 4-3 on aggregate in the final of the Tessema Cup, the previous trophy for Africa’s U20 champions.
The two-legged final saw a 2-2 draw in Abidjan, before Dahiru Sadi’s long-range goal sealed a 2-1 victory in Lagos, confirming Nigeria as champions.
The initial matches against Egypt were canceled after both teams were drawn into Group B of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations, alongside Morocco and South Africa. The tournament, taking place from 26th April to 18th May in Cote d’Ivoire, will serve as a qualification event for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, scheduled for 27th September to 19th October. The top four teams from AFCON U20 will secure a place at the global tournament.
With the new friendly fixtures in place, the Flying Eagles will have an opportunity to test their strength against the AFCON hosts before the continental showdown.
