THE Flying Eagles of Nigeria will face Zambian in two friendly matches in Abuja as part of preparations for the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, the Nigeria Football Federation has announced.
The U-20 AFCON will be held in Egypt from February 19 to March 11, with Nigeria one of 12 countries taking part.
The NFF said today that the body approached the Football Association of Zambia to request for the friendlies, and the challenge was accepted.
The Nigerian governing body explained that the proposal for the tour includes FAZ flying the Junior Chipolopolo to Abuja while the NFF will bear the cost of accommodation, feeding and other logistics for the Zambian delegation.
The two matches will take place on Friday, January 27 and Monday, January 30.
Both teams will be in Egypt for the U-20 AFCON, with Nigeria drawn in Group A alongside Senegal, Mozambique and hosts Egypt.
Zambia, who won the tournament as hosts in 2017, will battle Tunisia, Benin Republic and The Gambia in Group C.
Group B has Uganda, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.
The Flying Eagles have been in prolific form in their tune-up games, scoring 10 goals in two friendlies since resuming camp after the Christmas break – the latest being a 5-1 thrashing of Galadima FC in Abuja today.
The Flying Eagles have won the U-20 AFCON a record seven times and reached the FIFA U-20 World Cup final in 1989 in Saudi Arabia, where they lost 2-0 to Portugal.
Zambia reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic in 2017, the same year they won the U-20 AFCON.
All four semi-finalists in Egypt will qualify to represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup slated for Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.
