Promising defender Solomon Agbalaka shares Flying Eagles “objective” in the 2023 AFCON

Solomon Agbalaka has excelled for the Nigerian under-20 squad, scoring the game-winning goal in their victory over Egypt and contributing an assist in their victory against Mozambique.

Flying Eagles left-back, Solomon Agbalaka, has shared what his squad hopes to accomplish in the Under-20 African Cup of Nations competition.

The Nigeria U-20 team made a significant trip to Egypt to win the first trophy for the nation in 2023, and their recent success in moving on to the competition's next phase indicates that everything is going according to plan.

Though the focus is more likely on Ladan Bosso's boys winning their eighth title at the competition, the talented defender has indicated that the team's ultimate goal is to qualify for the World Cup.

After losing to the Young Lions of Teranga, their first defeat in this effort may not have gone well, but their comeback has got them back in the game.

Agbalaka's outstanding effort and his lone goal won the game against Egypt for Bosso's team. At the same time, Samson Lawal and Ibrahim Muhammad scored two goals to give the seven-time champions their second victory in the competition.

Commenting on this, Agbalaka, whose performance earned him the Man of The Match award for a second time, disclosed that the squad had to prevail to advance to the tournament's next stage.

“I'm happy to be named the Man of the Match for the second time running. It was a good performance, and we needed to win and qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament,” the player for Broad City FC remarked, as cited by CAFonline.

For a team to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, they must play in the final four of the AFCON under-20 competition. The dynamic defender continued by saying that the Nigerian bigger goal is to qualify for the tournament's semifinal phase to earn a spot at the next World Cup.

The 19-year-old added: “Our objective is to book a place in the semifinals which will qualify us to the FIFA U-20 World Cup. We played well and scored good goals today, so we will keep improving in the matches to come.” 

The Nigerian team will begin their quarterfinal match on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in an effort to secure a place on the global stage.

Photo Credit: CAFonline