TheCable

Flying Eagles coach, Manu Garba, expects a good challenge from Black Satellites of Ghana in their two friendly games saying it “will help give us the competitive edge that we want”.

The Nigeria U-20 team play their Ghanaian counterparts on Saturday and on Wednesday in Accra and Garba says it is a good test for his players ahead the 2015 Africa Youth Championship in Senegal.

“It is a very good test for us really and I am excited about it. It follows the Super 6 tournament which we won, which I think is good for us,” he said.

“We are preparing for a very important competition and these games will help give us the competitive edge that we want.

“The Ghanaians are also preparing for the Africa Youth Championship and it is also a good test for them.”

The Flying Eagles are in Group A of the tournament with hosts Senegal, Congo and Cote d’Ivoire while the Black Satellites are in Group B with South Africa, Mali and Zambia.

And Manu feels playing Ghana will help them understand their Group A opponents.

“Ghana are close to Ivory Coast and they share a border, so their style may not be too different. Senegal and Congo are also there and hopefully we will understand their styles with these games against Ghana.”

The squad

Goalkeepers: Joshua Enaholo, Sunday Alampasu, Olorunleke Ojo

Defenders:Musa Muhamed, Zaharadeen Bello, Izu Omego, Mustapha Abdullahi, Samuel Okon, Abdulganiyu Saheed

Midfielders:Ifeanyi Matthew, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Akinjide Idowu, Obinna Nwobodo, Musa Yahaya, Bernard Bulbwa, Abdullahi Alfa

Strikers: Taiwo Awoniyi, Abdullahi Ibrahim Alhassan, Usman Hassan, Chidera Ezeh, Abubakar Lawal, Wasiu Jimoh