Aliyu Zubairu has
assured that the Nigeria U20 squad will be even better when they take on South
Africa’s Amajita in the first semi-final of the ongoing CAF U20 Cup of Nations
in the city of Ismailia on Thursday evening.
Pundits have
praised the seven-time champions for dominating the tough quarter-final
encounter against Senegal at the same venue on Monday, before sending the Cup
holders out of the tournament after a 3-1 penalty shootout win.
“I believe we are
going to have a great semi-final against the South Africans. I can guarantee
that our approach will be much better, as the anxiety of whether or not we will
earn a FIFA World Cup ticket is no longer there. It was a tense 120 minutes for
ourselves and the defending champions on Monday.
“We have the World
Cup ticket now and are quite happy. Against South Africa, we will play with
great determination and composure, as we aim for the trophy, but without the
tense atmosphere around the last match. Of course, we know the little matter of
the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa and what the game means, and we
will go in there to do a real battle,” Head Coach Zubairu said on Tuesday.
The man who led
El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri to win last year’s President Federation Cup
competition believes his team has improved considerably since the first match
against Tunisia on the first day of May.
“We can all see
that the team has improved, and actually getting better with each match. We will
go all out against the South Africans.”
Apart from their
seven titles, Nigeria have also finished as runners-up on two occasions (1999
and 2007), and as bronze medallists on two other occasions as well (2009 and
2013).
To set up a clash
with the most-decorated team in the competition’s history, the Amajita had to
also endure a 120-minute affray against the Democratic Republic of Congo, also
at the same Suez Canal Authority Stadium where the Flying Eagles upended Senegal’s
expectations. They won their own game 1-0 after extra time.
Nigeria had
collected four of her seven titles (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989) before South Africa
(isolated for decades) was assimilated back into global sport following the
release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990.
Amajita’s first
experience of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations was in 1997, and they finished as
runners-up to hosts and winners Morocco. Nigeria did not qualify for the
finals. Four years later, in Ethiopia, both Nigeria and South Africa finished
bottom of their pool and exited at the group stage in what remains Nigeria’s
worst outing ever in the history of the tournament.
In 2009, Nigeria
defeated South Africa 2-1 for bronze, and four years later defeated Mali by the
same margin to also pick up the bronze medals in Algeria.
As hosts in 2011,
the Amajita crashed out at the group stage after winning one and losing two
matches, while Nigeria roared to her sixth title with a 3-2 defeat of Cameroon
in the final in Soweto.
In 2015, Nigeria
grabbed her seventh title in Senegal, while South Africa’s campaign ran into
the sands in the group stage after losses to Ghana and Mali. Eight years ago,
Nigeria didn’t qualify for the competition when South Africa finished in fourth
place.
In 2019, in Niger
Republic, Nigeria defeated South Africa 5-3 after penalty shootout to win the
bronze medals, after both teams had tied scoreless in a group phase encounter.
In the second
semi-final on Thursday, hosts and four-time winners Egypt – conquerors of 1999
world champions Ghana -will take on Morocco in Cairo.
PHOTO 1:
Zubairu (first left, in front row) with the team’s Management and reserve
players before the clash with Senegal on Monday.
PHOTO 2:
Simon Cletus battling against a Kenyan in the group stage.
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