Nigeria’s U20 national team, the Flying Eagles, have settled into Santiago, Chile, and will begin full training on Wednesday ahead of the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.
The squad, led by head coach Aliyu Zubairu, arrived in the Chilean capital on Tuesday after leaving Nigeria on Sunday night.
The players used their first day to recover from travel fatigue, with double training sessions scheduled daily at 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time.
Nigeria has been drawn in Group F, where the Eagles will face Norway in their opening game on September 29, before taking on Saudi Arabia on October 3 and Colombia on October 6.
Zubairu, who guided the Flying Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2025 CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, says his ambition is to surpass Nigeria’s previous best performances at the tournament. The country has twice finished as runners-up, in 1989 and 2005.
To sharpen preparations, the Nigeria Football Federation has arranged friendlies against the host nation Chile and Australia during the team’s 12-day camp.
The 24th edition of the FIFA U20 World Cup will take place in Chile from September 27 to October 19.
