The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have said they are not afraid of the Italy Under-20 team which defeated five-time champions, Brazil, 3-2 in the opening Group D match in the ongoing Under-20 World Cup in Argentina.
At 7 PM tonight, May 24, the Flying Eagles will take the Italian side at the Estadio Malvinas Argentina in a game that could determine how far the Nigerian side would go in the tournament.
Recall that as Italy defeated Brazil 3-2 in their opening group game, Nigeria defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 in their debut match which means that Italy are occupying the first spot in Group D followed by Nigeria.
In the opening group game, Italy dominated the Brazilians in the Estadio Malvinas Argentina and did an excellent job, scoring three goals in 45 minutes to the cheers of a nearly full stadium.
Despite how dominant the Italian team was during the game, the head coach of the Flying Eagles, Ladan Bosso, insisted that he and his team would come up with a plan to handle the compact side.
Coach Bosso said, “We stayed back after our match against the Dominican Republic to watch Italy’s match against Brazil, and we took a lot of notes from there. The Italians have the midfield machinery to outrun any team that is flustered by their pace and organization, but we will know how to deal with that.
“We have the boys who can neutralize their mortal armory and deliver some blows of our own. Wednesday’s encounter will be interesting. We will respect them but we don’t fear any team at this championship.”
While the Flying Eagles captain, Daniel Bameyi added, “The next opponents beat Brazil and we were opportune to watch the first half. Any team that can beat Brazil will not be easy, but we are Nigerians and not scared of anybody, and we know every team is beatable no matter how you play.”
