Nigeria national under-20 football team

Nigeria Under-20

Nickname(s)	Flying Eagles
Association	Nigeria Football Association
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Mitchell Adebanjo
Home stadium	Agege Stadium
FIFA code	NGA
First colours Second colours
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	12 (first in 1981)
Best result	Runners-up (1989, 2005)
Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
Appearances	18 (first in 1978–79)
Best result	Champions (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, 2015)
WAFU Zone B U-20 Tournament
Appearances	3 (first in 2018)
Best result	Champions (2022)

The Nigerian men's national under-20 football team represents Nigeria in men's international football also known as the Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed the Flying Eagles. The Flying Eagles is the youth team for the national soccer in Nigeria. It plays a large role in the development of Nigerian football, and it’s considered to be the feeder team for the senior team. It is controlled by the Nigerian Football Federation. The team has won a record of seven African U-20 Cup of Nations titles and are also two-times runners-up of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Competitive record

FIFA U-20 World Cup record

• • 1983 - Group stage^[1]
  • 1985 - Third place^[2]
  • 1987 - Group stage^[3]
  • 1989 - Runners-up^[4]
  • 1999 - Quarter-finals^[5]
  • 2005 - Runners-up^[6]
  • 2007 - Quarter-finals^[7]
  • 2009 - Round of 16^[8]
  • 2011 - Quarter-finals^[9]
  • 2013 - Round of 16^[10]
  • 2015 - Round of 16^[11]
  • 2019 - Round of 16^[12]
  • 2023 - Quarter-finals

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations record

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1977	Did not enter
1979	Semi-finalists	3rd	4	1	2	1	4	3
1981	Semi-finalists	3rd	4	1	0	3	7	8
1983	Champions	1st	8	5	1	2	13	7
1985	Champions	1st	8	4	2	2	14	8
1987	Champions	1st	8	6	1	1	11	9
1989	Champions	1st	8	5	3	0	16	6
1991	Did not enter
1993	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	2	2
1995	Third place	3rd	5	3	1	1	8	6
1997	Did not qualify
1999	Second place	2nd	5	3	1	1	11	5
2001	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	1	6
2003	Did not qualify
2005	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	11	3
2007	Second place	2nd	5	2	1	2	6	6
2009	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	8	5
2011	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	9	4
2013	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	6	5
2015	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	12	4
2017	Did not qualify
2019	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	4	1
2021	Did not qualify
2023	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	8	2
Total	18/23	7 titles	97	56	14	27	151	90

A gold background colour indicates that Nigeria won the tournament.

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

*There was no third place match from 1979-1989.

Team honours and achievements

Intercontinental

• FIFA U-20 World Cup
  • Runners-up: 1989, 2005
  • Third-place: 1985

Continental

• Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
  • Winners: 1980, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, 2015
  • Runners-up: 1999, 2007
  • Third-place: 1979, 1981, 1995, 2009, 2013, 2023
• Football at the African Games
  • Silver medal: 2019

Sub-Continental

• WAFU U-20
  • Silver: 2018
  • Quarterfinals: 2008

Staff

• Head Coach: Mitchell Adebanjo
• First Assistant Coach: Usman Garba Suleiman
• Second Assistant Coach: Emeka Uzoma
• Scout: Hubert Okeke
• Goalkeepers' Trainer: Babajide Adegoke

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be played in May-June 2023.^[13]

Caps and goals correct as of 10 March 2023, after the match against Tunisia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Chijioke Aniagboso	(2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 (age 19)	5	0	Polissya Zhytomyr
	1GK	Nathaniel Nwosu	(2006-01-10) 10 January 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Water
	1GK	John Utoblo	(2003-07-05) 5 July 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Mavlon
	2DF	Solomon Agbalaka	(2003-11-09) 9 November 2003 (age 20)	6	1	MFM
	2DF	Benjamin Fredrick	(2005-05-28) 28 May 2005 (age 18)	6	0	Brentford B
	2DF	Daniel Bameyi	(2006-01-04) 4 January 2006 (age 18)	5	0	Yumyum
	2DF	Abel Ogwuche	(2003-07-06) 6 July 2003 (age 20)	5	0	Trelleborgs FF
	2DF	Chimezie Njoku	(2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 19)	4	0	Abia Warriors
	2DF	Israel Domingo	(2004-02-09) 9 February 2004 (age 19)	0	0	FC Sports
	2DF	Salim Figo Lawal	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Mavlon
	3MF	Samson Lawal	(2004-04-25) 25 April 2004 (age 19)	6	1	Livingston
	3MF	Daniel Daga	(2007-01-10) 10 January 2007 (age 17)	1	0	Dakkada
	3MF	Ibrahim Abdullahi	(2005-10-17) 17 October 2005 (age 18)	0	0	Samba
	3MF	Victor Eletu	(2005-04-01) 1 April 2005 (age 18)	0	0	Milan
	3MF	Joshua John	(2004-01-18) 18 January 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Nasarawa United
	3MF	Tochukwu Nadi	(2003-06-30) 30 June 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Botev Plovdiv
	4FW	Sunday Jude	(2004-10-04) 4 October 2004 (age 19)	6	2	Real Sapphire
	4FW	Ibrahim Beji Muhammad	(2004-02-03) 3 February 2004 (age 19)	6	2	Giants
	4FW	Rilwanu Sarki	(2004-02-02) 2 February 2004 (age 19)	6	0	Mahanaim
	4FW	Umeh Emmanuel	(2004-08-31) 31 August 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Botev Plovdiv
	4FW	Kehinde Ibrahim	(2006-01-15) 15 January 2006 (age 17)	0	0	36 Lion

Former coaches

• Christopher Udemezue (July 1, 1982 – June 30, 1987/1988)
• Paul Hamilton (July 1, 1985 – June 30, 1986)
• Olatunde Nurudeen Disu (1987–1997)
• Thijs Libregts (July 1, 1998 – June 30, 1999)
• Samson Siasia (January 1, 2005 – March 26, 2007; June 30, 2009)
• Ladan Basso (2007–2009)
• John Obuh (July 1, 2010 – February 1, 2013)
• Emmanuel Amunike (July 1, 2014 – November 1, 2017)
• Paul Aigbogun (January 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020)

References

This page was last edited on 12 January 2024, at 15:10