By David Kabiyesi
Flying Eagles of Nigeria will this evening confronts their West African neighbours Gambia in the semi-final fixture of the outgoing African U-20 Championship in Egypt, iwitnesslive.com can report.
The much-anticipated clash is expected to live up to expectations given the attacking instinct and pedigree of both teams in the tournament so far. Nigeria’s quest for eight African titles will come under a severe test given the power play and tactical prowess of the Gambians.
Flying Eagles began the tournament on a scrappy note losing 1-0 to Senegal in the group opener before going ahead to beat host Egypt 1-0 and Mozambique 2-0 respectively to set up a mouth-watering clash against Uganda.
The Ugandans were their own greatest undoing after an own goal eased Nigeria to the semi-finals winning by a lone goal.
The Gambia on their part demonstrated how much youth football has evolved in the tiny West African nation with their 100 percent record at the group stage. The Gambia pipped Tunisia 1-0 in their opening game, hammered Zambia 2-0, and went on to subdue Benin 1-0 to emerge as group leaders.
Playing against Sudan in the quarter-final was like a stroll in the park as Gambia put Sudan to the sword with five unreplied goals.
The epic clash between both countries could go either way even though odds favour Gambia to go through going by their fairy-tale runs in the competition so far and coming into today’s game without dropping a single point on the road is a huge boost.
But it remains to be seen if Flying Eagles can rise to the occasion and book a place in Saturday’s finals.
