Under-20 World Cup: Flying Eagles Seek To End Poor Run Against Brazil

The Flying Eagles will be aiming for their first victory over the Brazil Under-20 team at the ongoing Under-20 World Cup in Argentina later tonight, May 27, 2023.

At 7 PM WAT, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria who are currently topping Group D will take on the most successful Under-20 team in the world, Brazil, in the last group game of the ongoing youth World Cup at the La Plata Stadium in Argentina.

The two countries have met six times at the Under-20 level, four of those meetings ended in defeats to Nigeria, while the remaining two games ended in draws.

The heaviest defeat the five-times world champions have inflicted on Nigeria at the Under-20 World Cup was a 4-0 thrashing during the 1987 edition of the tournament.

While the last time Nigeria got a point against the Brazilian side at this level of youth football was in the 2013 edition of the tournament held in Turkey. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

The 2015 edition of the tournament was the last time the two countries met at this level. Unfortunately, it ended in a 4-2 defeat against the Flying Eagles.

In tonight’s game, Nigeria will have to avoid losing to finish first in Group D, and Brazil will need to win to guarantee a place in the round of 16.

Despite the negative head-to-head, the Flying Eagles’ head coach, Ladan Bosso, is still confident that his team would triumph over the South Americans and halt their winless streak against the Brazilians.

“Yes, we acknowledge that Brazil has always been a hard nut to crack for our team at this level,” Bosso said as quoted by a statement from the NFF.

“We have lost several matches to them over the decades, but there is always a first time. We are riding on a wave of robust confidence and though we do not under-rate them, we certainly do not fear them.

“We have been able to fulfill our first objective for this championship: getting to the knockout stages. We will take it one match at a time from now onwards. We don’t want to take it easy and lose against Brazil; that will not be good for our winning mentality.”