Nigeria coach Zubairu positive after U-20 World Cup draw, eyes sharper attack

Nigeria under-20 national team head coach Aliyu Zubairu has expressed optimism following the FIFA U-20 World Cup draw, despite his team's recent struggles with scoring goals at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The draw held in the Chilean capital of Santiago saw the Flying Eagles drawn in Group F where they will compete against Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Norway. Speaking after the draw, Zubairu said qualification to the World Cup is a testament to Nigeria’s football excellence:

“My thoughts about the draw are positive. It’s very good that Nigeria one of the countries participating in the World Cup proper.”

The gaffer also admitted that the just concluded U-20 AFCON helped the technical crew understand where improvements are needed and they are committed to working towards improving the team's finishing.

“We will fortify the team in all departments before the World Cup, particularly in attack, by bringing in players who will be more clinical in front of goal- these players can be from within Nigeria or those playing abroad; so long you are good to fit in and you are eligible age wise -where you are coming from is irrelevant."

"We are going to prepare a team that can play with higher possession and intensity, transform possession into goals, and defend effectively.”

Zubairu added that his primary concern was his team's adequate preparation, rather than dwelling on whether they landed in a tough or easy group. He highlighted his team's consistent readiness for any challenge, citing their experience in the last AFCON when the initial draw was altered after Cote d'Ivoire withdrew as host.

“I have said it times without number that there’s nothing like group of death or a weaker group, but it’s the level of preparation of each team that matters."

"As part of the preparation, we have the WAFU invitational tournament in Ghana sometime in June and we are going to participate in it. After that, we intend to commence preparation for the world Cup early enough subject to NFF’s approval."

Nigeria have been in the final of the U-20 World Cup on two occasions and will be looking to go a step further to lift the trophy in Chile.