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Nigeria Under-20

Nickname(s)	Flying Eagles
Association	Nigeria Football Association
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Mitchell Adebanjo
Home stadium	Agege Stadium
FIFA code	NGA
First colours Second colours
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	13 (first in 1983)
Best result	Runners-up (1989, 2005)
Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
Appearances	18 (first in 1978–79)
Best result	Champions (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, 2015)
WAFU Zone B U-20 Tournament
Appearances	3 (first in 2018)
Best result	Champions (2022)

The Nigerian men's national under-20 football team represents Nigeria in men's international football also known as the Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed the Flying Eagles. The Flying Eagles is the youth team for the national soccer in Nigeria. It plays a large role in the development of Nigerian football, and is considered the feeder team for the senior team. It is controlled by the Nigerian Football Federation. The team has won a record seven African U-20 Cup of Nations titles and are also two-times runners-up of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Competitive record

FIFA U-20 World Cup record

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1977	Did not qualify
1979
1981
1983	Group stage	3	1	1	1	1	3
1985	Third place	6	3	1	2	8	7
1987	Group stage	3	0	1	2	2	8
1989	Runners-up	6	2	2	2	9	10
1991	Did not qualify
1993
1995
1997
1999	Quarter-finals	5	1	2	2	6	7
2001	Did not qualify
2003
2005	Runners-up	7	3	2	2	10	5
2007	Quarter-finals	5	3	1	1	5	5
2009	Round of 16	4	1	0	3	7	6
2011	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	15	5
2013	Round of 16	4	2	0	2	7	5
2015		4	2	0	2	8	5
2017	Did not qualify
2019	Round of 16	4	1	1	2	6	5
2023	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	6	4
2025	To be determined
Total	13/24	61	26	11	24	90	75

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations record

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1977	Did not enter
1979	Semi-finalists	3rd	4	1	2	1	4	3
1981	Semi-finalists	3rd	4	1	0	3	7	8
1983	Champions	1st	8	5	1	2	13	7
1985	Champions	1st	8	4	2	2	14	8
1987	Champions	1st	8	6	1	1	11	9
1989	Champions	1st	8	5	3	0	16	6
1991	Did not enter
1993	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	2	2
1995	Third place	3rd	5	3	1	1	8	6
1997	Did not qualify
1999	Second place	2nd	5	3	1	1	11	5
2001	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	1	6
2003	Did not qualify
2005	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	11	3
2007	Second place	2nd	5	2	1	2	6	6
2009	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	8	5
2011	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	9	4
2013	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	6	5
2015	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	12	4
2017	Did not qualify
2019	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	4	1
2021	Did not qualify
2023	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	8	2
Total	18/23	7 titles	97	56	14	27	151	90

A gold background colour indicates that Nigeria won the tournament.

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

*There was no third place match from 1979-1989.

Team honours and achievements

Intercontinental

• FIFA U-20 World Cup
  • Runners-up: 1989, 2005
  • Third-place: 1985

Continental

• Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
  • Winners: 1980, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, 2015
  • Runners-up: 1999, 2007
  • Third-place: 1979, 1981, 1995, 2009, 2013, 2023
• Football at the African Games
  • Silver medal: 2019

Sub-Continental

• WAFU U-20
  • Silver: 2018
  • Quarterfinals: 2008

Staff

• Head Coach: Mitchell Adebanjo
• First Assistant Coach: Usman Garba Suleiman
• Second Assistant Coach: Emeka Uzoma
• Scout: Hubert Okeke
• Goalkeepers' Trainer: Babajide Adegoke

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be played in May-June 2023.

Caps and goals correct as of 10 March 2023, after the match against Tunisia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Chijioke Aniagboso	(2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 (age 20)	5	0	Polissya Zhytomyr
	1GK	Nathaniel Nwosu	(2006-01-10) 10 January 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Water
	1GK	John Utoblo	(2003-07-05) 5 July 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Mavlon
	2DF	Solomon Agbalaka	(2003-11-09) 9 November 2003 (age 21)	6	1	MFM
	2DF	Benjamin Fredrick	(2005-05-28) 28 May 2005 (age 19)	6	0	Brentford B
	2DF	Daniel Bameyi	(2006-01-04) 4 January 2006 (age 18)	5	0	Yumyum
	2DF	Abel Ogwuche	(2003-07-06) 6 July 2003 (age 21)	5	0	Trelleborgs FF
	2DF	Chimezie Njoku	(2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Abia Warriors
	2DF	Israel Domingo	(2004-02-09) 9 February 2004 (age 20)	0	0	FC Sports
	2DF	Salim Figo Lawal	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Mavlon
	3MF	Samson Lawal	(2004-04-25) 25 April 2004 (age 20)	6	1	Livingston
	3MF	Daniel Daga	(2007-01-10) 10 January 2007 (age 17)	1	0	Dakkada
	3MF	Ibrahim Abdullahi	(2005-10-17) 17 October 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Samba
	3MF	Victor Eletu	(2005-04-01) 1 April 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Milan
	3MF	Joshua John	(2004-01-18) 18 January 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Nasarawa United
	3MF	Tochukwu Nadi	(2003-06-30) 30 June 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Botev Plovdiv
	4FW	Jude Sunday	(2004-10-04) 4 October 2004 (age 20)	6	2	Real Sapphire
	4FW	Ibrahim Beji Muhammad	(2004-02-03) 3 February 2004 (age 20)	6	2	Giants
	4FW	Rilwanu Sarki	(2004-02-02) 2 February 2004 (age 20)	6	0	Mahanaim
	4FW	Umeh Emmanuel	(2004-08-31) 31 August 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Botev Plovdiv
	4FW	Kehinde Ibrahim	(2006-01-15) 15 January 2006 (age 18)	0	0	36 Lion

Former coaches

• Christopher Udemezue (July 1, 1982 – June 30, 1987/1988)
• Paul Hamilton (July 1, 1985 – June 30, 1986)
• Olatunde Nurudeen Disu (1987–1997)
• Thijs Libregts (July 1, 1998 – June 30, 1999)
• Samson Siasia (January 1, 2005 – March 26, 2007; June 30, 2009)
• Ladan Basso (2007–2009)
• John Obuh (July 1, 2010 – February 1, 2013)
• Emmanuel Amunike (July 1, 2014 – November 1, 2017)
• Paul Aigbogun (January 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020)

References

1. "Flying Eagles squad for 2023 FIFA World Cup in Argentina". The NFF - Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2023.

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v t e National under-20 football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA Football in Africa portal

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Nigeria's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Argentina	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	050.00
Australia	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Brazil	6	0	1	5	2	15	−13	000.00
Canada	2	1	1	0	4	2	+2	050.00
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	000.00
Costa Rica	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
Croatia	1	1	0	0	5	2	+3	100.00
Cuba	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Czech Republic	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
England	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
France	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Germany	3	1	0	2	4	4	+0	033.33
Guatemala	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00
Hungary	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Italy	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00
Japan	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Mali	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Mexico	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Morocco	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Netherlands	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	000.00
North Korea	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Portugal	3	0	0	3	2	6	−4	000.00
Qatar	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Republic of Ireland	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Saudi Arabia	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Scotland	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Senegal	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
South Korea	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	033.33
Soviet Union	4	1	2	1	6	6	+0	025.00
Spain	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Switzerland	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Tahiti	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00
Ukraine	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
United States	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	050.00
Uruguay	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Zambia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Total	61	26	11	24	90	75	+15	042.62

• Nigeria national football team
• African national under-20 association football teams
• Football in Nigeria
• Youth sport in Nigeria
• Men's national sports teams of Nigeria