Italian midfielder, Cesare Casadei has described the Flying Eagles as a very strong team as he urged his Italy Under-20 teammates to take the game against the Nigerian side seriously.
Two-time Under-20 World Cup champions, Italy will face two-time Under-20 World Cup semifinalists, Nigerian at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas later tonight. The match which is the second round of games in the ongoing 2023 Under-20 World Cup in Argentina will kick off at 7 PM WAT.
In their opening Group D game, the Flying Eagles defeated debutants Dominican Republic 2-1, following Italy’s 3-2 victory against five-time champions Brazil on Sunday.
This result means that Nigeria are currently second in Group D behind Italy on goals differential which means that a win against the Italian side tonight will guarantee them a place in the second round of the competition.
Adama Bojang of The Gambia and Marcos Leonardo of Brazil are vying with Casadei for the Golden Boot, as Casadei currently has two goals and one assist.
Italy and Nigeria met each other for the first time in the Under-20 World Cup in 1987 in Chile, where Marco Carrara and Alessandro Melli ended the Flying Eagles’ chances of advancing to the knockout stages by scoring two goals in two minutes.
Ahead of the game between the two countries later tonight, Cesare Casadei who is currently contracted to Chelsea, urged his teammates to handle the Flying Eagles like they handled Brazil.
“They are a very strong team, we must enter the field with the same spirit as the challenge against Brazil,” Cesare Casadei told Eurosport.
Cesare Casadei joined Chelsea from Inter Milan last summer. The Italian youngster joined the Premier League club for a transfer fee worth £12.6 million.
