Flying Eagles World Cup participation in danger

Sunday Dare with members of the Flying Eagles upon return from U-20 AFCON

Flying Eagles World Cup participation in danger

Faruq Ibrahim 16:23 - 26.03.2023

Flying Eagles World Cup participation in jeopardy as the competition is in danger of cancellation.

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria qualified for the 2023 u-20 World Cup to be held in Indonesia after beating Uganda in the u-20 AFCON to reach the final four; however, their participation is in jeopardy as said competition is set to be cancelled.

Flying Eagles' participation in Jeopardy

The Nigeria u-20 team, led by Ladan Bosso, aimed to emulate the feat of their West African rivals, Ghana, in winning the u-20 World Cup set to be hosted in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.

Nigeria vs Tunisia in AFCON U20
Flying Eagles team that lost to gambia (CAF) Nigeria's U20 emerge third in AFCON U20

However, they might not even get the chance to compete as the competition is in danger after the governor of Bali refuses the participation of Israel.

Bali is a prominent province in Indonesia, and its governor, Wayne Koster, has refused to host the Israeli u-20 team, according to Zach Lowy.

The draw for the tournament, which was slated for March 31st, has already been cancelled following this development, and it is said that the competition in its entirety could follow suit, with the date for kick-off so close.

Wayne Koster: “We, the provincial government of Bali, declare that we reject the participation of the Israel team to compete in Bali.”

However, there are also reports claiming Qatar, who hosted the World Cup in November/December last year, could step in to host the competition.

Nigeria's road to qualification

Although Nigeria failed to win the competition after losing to the Gambia, they got a big consolation prize by qualifying for the u-20 World Cup before going on to clinch third place.

Going into the competition, the Bosso-led Flying Eagles knew making it into the semi-finals of the u-20 AFCON will earn them a ticket to Indonesia.

Despite a slow start and losing to eventual champions Senegal, Nigeria won their next two group-stage games to enter the quarter-final.

The u-20 Eagles narrowly beat the young Ugandans thanks to a 30th-minute own goal by Ibrahim Juma to book a place in the semi-final—which they lost to the Gambia—and the World Cup in Indonesia, whose advancement is in doubt.

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