Football
Exclusive: Nigeria More Talented than WAFU B U20 Opponents - Aliyu Zubair
Nigeria U20 coach Aliyu Zubair credits raw talent and direction for the Flying Eagles' WAFU B win, as they aim for the 2025 U-20 AFCON and 2026 World Cup. Football bettors will be closely following their progress, excited to see how the team builds on this success in future tournaments.
NFF Media
Nigeria U20 head coach, Aliyu Zubair has cited talents and proper direction as decisive factors that guided the Flying Eagles to win the West African Football Union Zone B (WAFU B) U20 qualifying tournament in Togo.
Nigeria defeated Ghana 2-1 in Wednesday’s final match, with Kparobo Arierhi starring with a first-half brace in Lome to qualify for the 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.
Zubair was appointed Nigeria U20 coach in September and, less than a month after training camps in Abuja and Ikenne, orchestrated the team's success in West Africa.
Following the team's triumphant return to Nigeria, Zubair told SportsBoom: “Anybody knows that Nigeria have talents and we are more determined than other West African countries. The only thing we needed to do was to give the boys good direction. Over the past years, we have dominated age-grade football in the West African region.
With the emergence of some coaches, things are getting better, it is down to coaches to identify the talents and direct them. We did not do any magic or anything special. Nigeria is full of talent.
Aliyu Zubair
Under Pressure to Qualify for U20 World Cup
Nigeria started the WAFU B U20 qualifying tournament on a poor note with a 1-0 loss to Burkina Faso, a result that made Zubair restrict his players from their phones.
He admitted that there is pressure to make sure the Flying Eagles qualify for their 13th appearance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile next year.
Zubair continued: “I restricted the boys from social media after the game against Burkina Faso because it could have had a negative impact on them. I instructed the team’s head of security to get their phones and we bounced back after the defeat to march on to victory in Togo.
“There is always pressure even if you coach an academy. There is pressure to improve the team in a club and this is Nigeria national team where there is bigger pressure from all corners.
Nobody wants to know how you are getting the results, you just need to deliver. We have qualified for the U20 AFCON and by God’s grace with this talented team, we will make it to the U20 World Cup next year
Aliyu Zubair
El Kanemi Warriors on a Roll in NPFL
Zubair is having a memorable year in the dugout, having led El Kanemi Warriors back to the Nigeria Premier Football League then he steered the Maiduguri-based club to win the President’s Federation Cup which guaranteed their qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup earlier this season.
El Kanemi Warriors are one of the two clubs yet to lose a game in the NPFL this season after nine matches alongside league leaders Rivers United.
With a record of two wins and seven draws, they are sixth in the league table and they play host to Katsina United on Sunday.
Amid talks of being in title contention, Zubair eased his team of any pressure and he stated that they are competing to be among the best in the Nigeria top-flight.
He said: “I don't set targets for my team because the league is a marathon. We are getting ready for matchday 10 with about 28 matches to go, I don't think it is realistic to set a target now.
“We want to maintain our position, to be among the top six teams in the league and from there, we will see how it goes.”
I’m Taiye Taiwo, an experienced sports journalists in Nigeria with focus on Nigeria sports, African sports & athletes and creating SEO contents for betting sites and blogs. I boast of mentions in several international English online platforms and my works have also been translated into French and Turkish.