NFF’s Lack Of Friendlies Puts Flying Eagles At Risk

With just four weeks to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles remain holed up in Abuja, training without the benefit of international friendly matches.

This glaring gap in preparation once again exposes the chronic negligence of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) when it comes to properly equipping our national teams for global challenges.

Head coach Aliyu Zubair has not been silent on the matter. He openly admitted after the WAFU B qualifiers that the Flying Eagles’ slow starts were largely down to the absence of friendlies.

His warning was clear: without test matches against strong opposition, the boys would struggle to find rhythm early in tournaments. Yet here we are, repeating the same mistake ahead of the biggest youth competition in world football. It is inexcusable.

No serious footballing nation prepares for a World Cup with closed-door drills alone.

Training in Abuja may build fitness, but it does nothing to prepare players for the intensity, speed, and tactical diversity they will face in Chile.

Nigeria is housed in the same group as Norway and Saudi Arabia in Group F. South American flair, European tactical discipline, and Asian high-pressing football cannot be simulated in training sessions.

Only real international matches can expose the players, highlight weaknesses, and sharpen their mentality.

History has shown this clearly. Nigeria’s best youth outings, such as Samson Siasia’s 2005 Flying Eagles or the 1989 squad that lit up Saudi Arabia, came on the back of well-planned friendly matches and international friendlies.

On the flip side, poor preparation without test games has too often left Nigerian teams looking lost in opening matches, only to recover when it is already too late.

The NFF has once again failed in its duty. It is not enough to assemble players and boast of camping in the capital.

Without international exposure, the Flying Eagles risk being undercooked, and the nation may be forced to watch another talented generation fall short on the global stage not for lack of ability, but because those in charge failed to do the basics.

If the federation truly values Nigeria’s reputation in world football, it must urgently secure quality friendlies even if it means last-minute arrangements in West Africa, North Africa, Europe, or South America.

Anything less would be a betrayal of the players’ efforts and the fans’ expectations. Talent alone does not win World Cups. Preparation does.

And right now, the NFF is failing the Flying Eagles on that front, it’s not too late to act now.

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