SEVEN-TIME African champions, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria, will face hosts Egypt on Tuesday in a friendly game ahead of the 2025 U-20 AFCON which kicks off in Cairo on Monday, April 27.
The Flying Eagles arrived in the Egyptian capital city on Sunday, more than a week ahead of their first game against Tunisia next Thursday.
A delegation of 24 players and nine officials, led by head coach Aliyu Zubairu, touched down at the Cairo International Airport aboard Egypt Air flight on Sunday evening.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, the team is lodged at Jewel Sports City and Aqua Resort and had their first training session on Monday evening.
They will square up against the host nation, the Young Pharaohs of Egypt on Tuesday evening as part of their build-up to the tournament.
The match is slated for 5 pm local time (4 pm Nigeria time) at the Cairo International Stadium.
Nigeria were drawn in Group B of the tournament, where they will face Tunisia, Kenya and Morocco, as they hope to win their eighth continental title.
The Flying Eagles were formerly drawn alongside Egypt, South Africa and Morocco but a new draw was occasioned by the withdrawal of former hosts Ivory Coast.
After their final phase of preparations in Egypt, Zubairu’s team will get their campaign underway against Tunisia at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Thursday, May 1. They will face Morocco three days later and their last group game will be against Kenya on Wednesday, May 7.
The U-20 AFCON serves as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals scheduled for September 27 to October 19 in Chile.
All four semi-finalists at the tournament in Egypt will represent Africa at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals.
