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Flying Eagles coach Ladan Bosso says the technical crew are working round the clock to present a formidable team for the WAFU B U-20 tournament in Togo, in spite of the short time for preparation.
Bosso told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the team started intense training at the FIFA Goal project of the Moshood Abiola national stadium Abuja just last week in preparation for the tournament.
NAN reports that Nigeria are drawn in a tough Group B of the WAFU U-20 qualifying tournament alongside Ghana’s Black Satellites and the Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire for the tournament taking place in Togo from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2.
Hosts Togo, Niger, Benin Republic, and Burkina Faso will battle it out in Group A, from which the top two teams will qualify to represent the zone at the 2021 U20 AFCON in Mauritania.
Bosso said the technical crew had strategicaly prunned down the 180 players in camp to 35 in just a week due to the time constrain, noting that the 25- man provisional squad would soon be released by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“For the first time within seven days, I was able to streamline the team from 180 to 35 players.
“You can see that the team is taking shape, we have had two friendly matches, so we are trying to build on the mistakes noticed in the matches before we move to the next phase,” he said.
The experienced gaffer said the players were selected from former U-17 national players and those within the age bracket from former U-20 team, the League and former LMC U-17 boys.
He said the technical crew was also scouting Europe for some players, just in case there might be need to draft them to the team.
The coach called for the support of Nigerians and football stakeholders while expressing confidence in the team’s ability to qualify for the tournament in Mauritania.
Bosso was recently appointed coach of the Flying Eagles for a second time.
In his first stint, he led Nigeria to the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.