Flying Eagles head coach Aliyu Zubairu has revealed the tactical mindset behind Nigeria’s preparations for their FIFA U20 World Cup Round of 16 clash against Argentina, Soccernet.ng reports.
At 8:30 pm Nigerian time, the seven-time African champions will be aiming to repeat their 2023 heroics against the South Americans after advancing from the Group stage as the Best third-placed team.
Meanwhile, Nigeria famously knocked out the Albiceleste on their home soil two years ago, winning 2-0 in San Juan with goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Haliru Sarki.
This time, the teams meet again at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago, with a quarter-final ticket at stake.
Zubairu’s tactical plan for Argentina
Zubairu said his players have studied Argentina’s strengths and weaknesses, and insisted that Nigeria’s focus will be on exploiting the spaces left behind by the six-time champions.
“We have seen Argentina, we have seen their strengths, and we will try to neutralise them,” the coach said. “We have been able to pick out their deficiencies, and we are going to work on that. On Wednesday, we’ll take advantage of what we’ve observed and, hopefully, we win the game.”
Flying Eagles’ confidence after tough group stage
The Flying Eagles advanced from a tough group featuring Saudi Arabia and Colombia, finishing with four points to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.
Their 1-1 draw against Colombia was crucial, as captain Daniel Bameyi converted a late penalty after Nigeria had struck the woodwork three times.
“As the competition progresses, the opposition becomes a bit tougher. That’s why you saw what happened against Colombia, as they are a good, physical side and very direct. But we were able to scale through,” he explained.
Zubairu, however, played down Argentina’s perfect record in the group stage. Speaking further, he said the knockout round presents a different challenge.
“Argentina came out with nine points, yes, and we respect them for that. But whatever points you gather in your group, you leave behind once you get to the knockout stage because this is an entirely new ball game,” he said.
Nigeria eye repeat of 2023 victory
The coach believes Nigeria’s self-belief and tactical awareness will be decisive, recalling how his team used similar preparation to defeat Argentina in 2023.
“I remember the last scenario; it happened in the last U-20 World Cup, which they even hosted. They came out with nine points, we came second in our group, but we still beat them. We are going to do the same thing again,” he declared.
Nigeria will, however, be without Sulaiman Sani, who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the group phase. Zubairu is expected to reshuffle his attack, possibly pairing Tahir Maigana and Kparobo Arierhi up front.
The Flying Eagles arrived in Santiago from Talca on Monday and held a training session on Tuesday evening, and will be aiming to put their practice into action when they tackle Argentina today.
