Flying eagles focus on Saudi Arabia after a painful defeat of Norway

Nigeria’s flying eagles have changed their attention to the mandatory shock on Thursday against Saudi Arabia after its 1-0 defeat against Norway in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup U20.

The twice finalists dominated great spells against the Europeans, but they got rid of a controversial penalty in the 9th minute. Despite a flood of opportunities of the second half, including Tahir Maigana hitting the post and Nasiru Salihu criticizing the bar, Nigeria could not find a tie.

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Chief coach Aliyu Zubairu has already urged his players to recover. “We cannot stop in this defeat. The most important thing is now Saudi Arabia. We have to give everything to win that game if we want to stay in this tournament,” he said.

Captain Daniel Bameyi echoed his coach’s message, attributing Norway’s defeat to bad luck but emphasizing that the team must be more clinical. “We did everything well, except score. We cannot allow this to happen again. Against Saudi Arabia, we must risk,” he said.

The Norway coach, Bjorn Johansen, had previously praised Nigeria, calling them a “very hard opponent”, despite the victory of his team. That respect will serve as motivation for flying eagles, which are determined to demonstrate their worth.

Nigerians know that anything less than victory could put their hope hopes in danger. With a strong squad and a resilience story, optimism is still that things can change.

“We are not out yet,” said midfielder Nasiru Salihu. “We will fight until the end. The Saudi game is like a final for us, and we are ready.”

All eyes will now be in Thursday’s clash, since the Flying Eagles seek redemption and its first points of the tournament.

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