Flying Eagles captain, Ikouwen Udoh, says the team will go all out for a win in Saturday’s first leg Second Round of the 2019 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifiers against Guinea Bissau, to make return leg a mere formality.
The young Djurtinhos shocked Siera Leone 1-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round to book a date with the Flying Eagles.
The left-back stated that they won’t underrate their opponent despite their lesser pedigree on the continent and will seek to start their qualifying campaign on a positive note.
“This is our first match in the qualifying series and we hope to start with a positive result by coming back home with a win,” Udoh said
“It is also important not to underrate Guinea Bissau as that could be detrimental to our hopes of qualifying for the AFCON.
“Our target is to beat them in their territory and make the second leg an easy task for us.”
The Flying Eagles are looking to stage a return to the U-20 AFCON after they failed to qualify for the last edition hosted by Zambia.
The final tournament will be hosted by Niger in 2019 with the four semi-finalists qualifying for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
Meanwhile, Flying Eagles coach Paul Aigbogun on Tuesday released an 18-man list for the game with Plateau United’s Peter Eneji, Wasiu Alalade of Enyimba and Akwa United’s Aniekeme Asuquo the notable names.
The Full Flying Eagles Squad To Guinea Bissau:
Goalkeepers: Akpan Udoh, Detan Ogundare
Defenders: Mike Zaruma, Valentine Ozornwafor, Ikouwem Udoh, Solomon Onome, Ekene Olisema, Abubakar Abdullahi Ali
Midfielders: Aminu Nuhu, Alhassan Ibrahim, Jamil Muhammed, Ali Isah
Forwards: Jerome Akor, Babawo Ibrahim, Idris Guda, Peter Eneji, Adeshina Gata, Asuquo Aniekeme, Wasiu Alalade, Effiom Maxwell