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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Quarterfinal matches would hold on Thursday, March 2 and Friday, March 3.
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The quarterfinals will see Senegal will play the third-placed team in Group C, next Thursday, and Nigeria play Group B’s runners-up, next Friday.
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Having finished second in Group A after a defeat and two wins, the Flying Eagles would in the next week’s quarterfinal, face Group B’s runner-up.
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Having scored a hat-trick on Saturday, Senegal’s Pape Diop Demba becomes the outright highest goal scorer of the competition with 4 goals.
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Flying Eagles coach Ladan Bosso has gotten a lot of criticism lately but his detractors are focusing on the wrong things
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Having finished second in Group A, the Flying Eagles would face one of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the quarterfinal.
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Samuel Agbalaka scored the only goal as the Flying Eagles picked their first win of the U-20 on Wednesday.
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Nigeria now sits second in Group A with three points, behind already qualified Senegal.
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Results from Group B on Thursday, meant that all four team would have to wait until their final group games to decide their fate.
South Sudan recorded a historic 1-0 win over the Central African Republic on Thursday, with Paul Mara’s first-half penalty sealing the win for the Bright Stars to brighten their chances of progressing.
