Flying Eagles head coach Aliyu Zubairu and midfielder Daniel Daga insist belief has not wavered ahead of Nigeria's clash with Saudi Arabia early on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Coach Zubairu has urged fans to ‘pray for us' and remain patient after the opening defeat to Norway, while Daga says the team are ‘100% prepared and confident' to put things right.
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles know their FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign is on the line as they prepare to face Saudi Arabia in Talca, Chile, after a frustrating opening defeat to Norway.
Aliyu Zubairu’s side sit bottom of Group F following a 1-0 loss to the Scandinavians on Monday, a match decided by Rasmus Holten’s early penalty. Despite dominating possession and creating chances, Nigeria left empty-handed, their appeals for two second-half penalties ignored.
The setback has piled pressure on Zubairu, but the coach insists his players are capable of mounting a response.
“I’ve said it time without number, they should pray for us, we are not going to let them down. They should put the first match behind them, we are not happy about it too,” Zubairu said at the pre-match press conference.
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Reflecting on the Norway defeat, he maintained that the performance was not lacking in effort:
“Anybody that watched the match knows the boys put in all their effort to make sure that we come out victorious but sometimes it’s like that in football. You may do everything humanly possible but still not get it right.”
With Saudi Arabia also beaten in their opener, a 1-0 defeat to Colombia, Friday’s clash at the Estadio Fiscal has become a straight fight to keep tournament hopes alive.
Zubairu is confident his squad can rise to the occasion:
“We believe it’s part of the game, but the remaining two matches I believe we’re going to have six points so that we can move ahead to the next level.”
Midfielder Daniel Daga, one of Nigeria’s standout performers, echoed his manager’s optimism. The Molde player believes the Flying Eagles were hard done by against Norway but insists they are ready to put things right.
“I’m confident because we lost our game against Norway that we deserved to win. I know Saudi Arabia lost their game too. It’s football, anything can happen so we are hundred percent prepared and confident to go out there and get the three points,” he said.
Daga also appealed directly to Nigerian fans to stick with the squad:
“I know Nigerians are disappointed for the first game but if they watched, they will know we deserved to win. I hope they are patient, support us, pray for us and we’ll do our best to make our country proud tomorrow.”
Nigeria have history on their side, with two previous U-20 World Cup wins against Saudi Arabia — 2-1 in 1989 and 2-0 in 2011. But the present matters more.
Zubairu has a full squad available and is likely to stick to his 4-3-3 system, focusing on possession and attacking thrust.
Israel Ayuma, Daga and Charles Agada are one yellow card away from suspension, adding another layer of tension to a game the Flying Eagles cannot afford to lose.
Kick-off is at 12:00am Nigerian time.
