Nigeria's Flying Eagles are entering one of the most important youth competitions on the African football calendar, with qualification for the 2027 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) now their biggest target, Soccernet.ng reports.
Head coach Abdu Maikaba has made it clear that his team has two major objectives when the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship begins in Côte d'Ivoire later this month. The first and most important goal is to secure one of the qualification places for the 2027 U-20 AFCON in Ghana by reaching at least the semi-finals of the regional tournament.
Only after achieving that target will Nigeria focus fully on winning the competition and reclaiming the WAFU B title they captured in 2024.
The Flying Eagles are currently in the final stage of preparations in Abuja, where Maikaba is trimming his 35-man provisional squad to select the players who will represent Nigeria in Abidjan.
The countdown to the tournament is already underway. The official draw will take place on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the WAFU B headquarters in Abidjan, where Nigeria will discover their group-stage opponents.
Five days later, on Monday, July 20, the team is expected to travel to Côte d'Ivoire to complete their preparations before the tournament officially kicks off from July 26 to August 9.
Nigeria know they will not have an easy path. The competition features several strong football nations, including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, Togo, and Niger Republic, with every team chasing qualification for the continental championship.
The biggest threats are likely to come from regional rivals Ghana and hosts Côte d'Ivoire. Ghana will be eager to avenge their defeat to Nigeria in the 2024 WAFU B final, while Côte d'Ivoire will hope home support can inspire them after beating Nigeria in last year's WAFU B Boys Cup final.
Maikaba admitted that his players still have plenty of work to do before the opening match.
“I have great confidence in this squad's potential, but talent alone will not guarantee success,” the veteran tactician said. “To compete against some of West Africa's youth teams, my players must combine their ability with discipline, hard work, and a winning mentality.”
The coach also reminded his squad that the tournament becomes more difficult every year because every country now invests heavily in youth football.
“We are not where we want to be yet. There is still a lot of work ahead of us because the WAFU B Championship is always highly competitive. Every country will arrive with quality players and a determination to qualify. So we must continue raising our standards in every aspect of our games.”
Flying Eagles hoping recent experience will guide another successful campaign
Nigeria head into the tournament with plenty of recent experience at regional, continental and world level.
The Flying Eagles lifted the 2024 WAFU B U-20 Championship after defeating Ghana 2-1 in the final. The following year, they again reached the final, eliminating Niger Republic in a dramatic penalty shootout before narrowly losing the title match to hosts Côte d'Ivoire.
At the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group B. A hard-fought 2-2 draw against Kenya proved crucial in helping the Flying Eagles progress and secure qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Their campaign continued later that year at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where they showed resilience by earning a valuable 1-1 draw against Colombia in Talca to reach the Round of 16 from a difficult group. However, their journey ended with a 4-0 defeat to Argentina.
