FIFA U20 World Cup: Flying Eagles Coach Zubairu to Add Fresh Faces

As the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile approaches, Flying Eagles head coach Aliyu Zubairu has revealed plans to bolster his squad with new talent. 

Speaking on Tuesday at the Kwara SWAN Hard Talk event in Ilorin, Zubairu acknowledged that goal-scoring woes and other shortcomings observed at the recent U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) must be addressed.

“We’ll be inviting additional players to strengthen every department,” Zubairu explained. “Our finishing at the AFCON left much to be desired, and we need more balance and depth across the team.”

Despite narrowly missing out on the AFCON title in Morocco, the coach praised the squad’s qualification for the World Cup as a major milestone.

Zubairu set his sights on surpassing the 2005 achievement of Samson Siasia’s Flying Eagles, who claimed silver in the Netherlands.

In other news, Zubairu also commented on El-Kanemi Warriors’ struggles in the 2024/25 NPFL season. He attributed their poor run to a lack of cohesion among mid-season signings and the mid-campaign departure of two key players to European clubs.