The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament holding in Poland will see 24 countries fighting for the coveted trophy.
The Mundial, which kicks off Thursday and ends on June 16, will witness an array of quality youngsters that participated in their various continental championships.
The competition revealed the likes of Lionel Messi, Kanu Nwankwo, Cristiano Ronaldo Mikel Obi and current big names in world football.
Nigeria is among the 24 countries taking part in this year’s championship after missing the last edition of the competition.
The country’s Flying Eagles did not qualify for the last edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and are made up of entirely new set of players selected from various academies and clubs across the world.
As this is their first experience in a world tournament, Coach Paul Aigbogun’s ability to get the best out of them will be crucial if Nigeria must succeed in the competition.
Placed in Group D alongside US, Qatar and Ukraine, the Flying Eagles have been tipped to come out of the pool unscathed. This ambition will be tested in their opening game tomorrow against Qatar, which, in Aspire, has one of the best football academies in the world.
Speaking with The Guardian Wednesday on the competition, John Obuh, former Flying Eagles coach, said this year’s championship would be different from the previous ones because of the preponderance of foreign-based players in the Nigerian team. He is, however, not happy with the composition of the team.
“This is the first time Nigeria will be parading more foreign-based players in an age grade championship. I don’t have anything against our young stars living abroad getting call ups, but since the junior team coaches are expected to discover talents from the grassroots, I see no reason why it is like this.
“Let us see how the foreign-based players will perform. But it must be said that the current arrangement has denied the homegrown youths the chance to display their skills. I wish the team all the best,” he said.
The 24 teams in the U-20 World Cup are Nigeria, Poland, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Honduras, Korea, Mali, Mexico, Portugal, Panama, Norway, France, Argentina, Ukraine, Uruguay, Qatar, US, Colombia, Tahiti, Japan, New Zealand and Italy.
