Nigeria U-20 coach Aliyu Zubairu in an exclusive interview with Footy-Africa said that his team can finally breathe a little easier after a tense 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia in their second group game at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Goals from Nasiru Salihu and Amos Ochoche, sandwiched between two Saudi equalisers, took the game to the brink of full-time. But team captain Daniel Bameyi converted a stoppage-time penalty to hand Nigeria their first points of the tournament.
Tonight, the #FlyingEagles are back in action at the FIFA U20 World Cup.#U20WC | #SoarFlyingEagles pic.twitter.com/dLYED0rPJx
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) October 2, 2025
Speaking exclusively to Footy-Africa after the match, Zubairu said the victory has lifted the team’s spirits ahead of their decisive final group game against hosts Colombia.
“We feel a bit relaxed. We feel comfortable, because we lost the first match and we knew we could not afford to lose two matches. That is why we went all out to win, to make sure we got this one. The boys will be more relaxed now,” he said.
“We fully understood that losing the first match meant if we did not get this one (against Saudi Arabia), we were closer to going out of the competition. We told the players to go all out so that they could win the game, and that is exactly what they did,” he added.
Reflecting on the opening loss to Norway, Zubair felt his side had been unlucky:
“For the game against Norway, we were not just lucky. We had better possession in the game, and they looked a bit lucky to get a penalty. We also had two penalty appeals which were not given by the referee. We tried to equalise, but we could not, so this win today became very important.”
Looking ahead to the Colombia clash, he admitted it will be a stern test:
“For the Colombia game, we know it is not going to be an easy match, but we will cross the bridge when we get there.”
Ochoche dedicates first international goal to his father after Saudi Arabia win
When asked about Nigeria’s objective in the tournament, Zubair was clear that the ambition remains high:
“Of course, if you know Nigeria very well, any tournament we go to, we want to win. We have reached the final of this competition twice, so if we can surpass that record, we will like it, and the boys fully know that. The players also take this tournament seriously because from here we always transit to the senior team. Every player wants to prove themselves so they can be part of the senior team.”
The El-Kanemi Warriors coach also praised the organisation of the World Cup and the support his team has received in Colombia:
“The level of the tournament has been good, the organisation has been good. What is admirable is the spectators too have turned out. I do not know of other centres, but the spectators here in Talca have done very well. We are happy because of how we have been received, but our focus now is on the Colombia game on Sunday, which we have to win.”
Nigeria currently sit third in Group F with three points from two games, one behind joint leaders Colombia and Norway, who played out a goalless draw in their own fixture.
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