Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba
The
Flying Eagles on Tuesday defeated German side Hoffenheim U23s in their
first of three friendlies lined up to prepare them for the U20 World
Cup, which will kick off on May 30 in New Zealand.
Second half substitute Taiwo Awoniyi was
the star of the match grabbing a hat-trick, while Chidera Ezeh and
Godwin Saviour scored a goal each to secure a 5-2 win over their German
opponents in the training match, which was played at the Hoffenheim
sports ground, Germany.
The African champions, who are in the
same group with five-time champions Brazil, Korea and Hungary, scored
first through Saviour, and shortly after the Germans equalised.
Eze restored Flying Eagles’ lead but the Germans made it 2-2 just before half time.
With the introduction of Awoniyi with 35
minutes to go, the pendulum swung in the Nigerians direction as he went
on to strike thrice in quick succession.
The match is expected to influence coach Manu Garba’s choice of players that will make up his 21-man list for the World Cup.
Players like Musa Yahaya, Godwin Saviour
and Kingsley Sokari, who were not part of the African Youth
Championship-winning squad and Genk’s Wilfred Ndidi are hopefuls.
Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho is
expected in camp before Friday when the final squad list for the World
Cup in New Zealand will be announced.
The Flying Eagles are billed to face Nurnberg U23s on Friday and Freiburg U23s on Tuesday, May 19.
0 comments:
Post a Comment