Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will be heading into the 2025 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-20 World Cup in Chile without some of their most promising young players following the refusal of European clubs to release them for international duty.
Stade Reims of France and Germany’s Hoffenheim turned down requests from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), citing that the tournament is not on the official FIFA calendar. This allows clubs the right to keep their players.
As a result, Hoffenheim youngsters Emmanuel Chukwu and Precious Benjamin, along with Stade Reims striker Ibrahim Hafiz, will miss out. The trio had been tipped as potential game-changers for the Nigerian side.
Head coach Aliyu Zubairu has since finalized a 21-man squad without these overseas-based talents. Notably excluded from the roster are Enyimba winger Clinton Jephta, Bidemi Amole, and Divine Oliseh, who had earlier participated in the West African Football Union (WAFU) B qualifiers in Togo.
Team captain Daniel Bameyi will lead the squad, which also features more than 10 players who have been consistent in training camps and friendly matches. Fresh additions include Israel Ayuma, Ebenezer Harcourt, Charles Agada, Auwal Ibrahim, Kparobo Arierhi, Tahir Maigana, and Odinaka Okoro.
Defensive mainstay Adamu Maigari, however, was ruled out due to a knee injury.
The team departed Abuja on Sunday night for Santiago, Chile. Norway-based midfielder Daniel Daga is expected to link up with the squad in Chile before their opening match.
The Flying Eagles will be aiming to break new ground, as Nigeria has yet to lift the FIFA U-20 World Cup trophy despite reaching the finals in 1989 and 2005. At the 2023 edition in Argentina, the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Republic of Korea.
The tournament kicks off on September 27 and will run until October 20.
okay.ng reports that the Flying Eagles are focused on putting up a strong fight to bring home their first-ever U-20 World Cup crown.
