Nigeria v Uganda preview: Flying Eagles look to secure semi-final place and World Cup ticket

Nigeria v Uganda preview

U-20 AFCON Nigeria v Uganda preview: Flying Eagles look to secure semi-final place and World Cup ticket

Tunde Young 04:27 - 02.03.2023

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria can kill two birds with one stone in the quarter-final clash against Uganda.

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria will play against Uganda in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2023 under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

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Nigeria qualified for the quarter-final by finishing second in Group A behind Senegal while Uganda were barely top of Group B, tied on points, goals scored and conceded with Congo.

The winner of this game between Nigeria and Uganda advances to the semi-final of this tournament which also guarantees automatic qualification to the u-20 FIFA World Cup in May.

Nigeria v Uganda Preview

The Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt will be the location for this win-or-bust clash set for 6 pm Nigerian time between the Flying Eagles and the Hippos of Uganda.

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria

Uganda come into this one with the confidence of group winners as they still remain unbeaten in the tournament so far with one win and two draws.

Nigeria on the other hand, lost their first game to Senegal but then bounced back with two wins against hosts, Egypt and Mozambique to finish the group stage with six points, ironically more than Uganda needed to win their group.

Uganda continue to build a strong reputation at this level having made it all the way to the final in their maiden appearance, finishing as runners-up in 2021.

Jacskon Mayanja has remined the Uganda Hippos that their quarter final against Nigeria is the final hurdle between them and the U20 World Cup | Credit CAF Media

If they aim to match or surpass that achievement from two years ago, they would have to beat Nigeria, the Flying Eagles who have a rich history at this level.

The Flying Eagles have won this tournament seven times before, the last of which came in 2015 which puts Ladan Bosso's men under pressure to win the eighth.

Nigeria v Uganda H2H

Nigeria and Uganda have never played against each other at this level mostly because the Flying Eagles did not qualify for the last under-20 AFCON which was Uganda's first appearance.

Flying Eagles boss Ladan Bosso has been the subject of criticism

Uganda's only win in this tournament so far was the 2-1 victory against Cape Verde who ended up finishing bottom of Group B to contextualise.

The 2-2 draw with Congo remains the best game involving Uganda after which they played out a goalless draw against South Sudan which technically means they have not won in two games.

Nigeria on the other hand are on a two-game winning streak after beating Egypt and Mozambique, building up the kind of momentum that could prove helpful against Uganda.

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