Adepoju tips Nigeria U20 to go far in Poland

The global tournament starts on Thursday and the Flying Eagles will begin their quest for glory against Qatar on Friday

Former Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju believes the Nigeria U20 team have quite a journey ahead of them at the Fifa U20 World Cup in Poland.

After a fourth place at the U20 Afcon earlier this year, Paul Aigbogun’s boys earned a ticket to the world stage and have been drawn in Group D against Qatar, Ukraine and USA.

They will begin their hunt for the country’s first title in the age-grade tournament against Qatar at the Tychy Stadium on Friday.

Following an intensive three-week training camp in Germany, which featured a defeat to Saudi Arabia, Adepoju assessed the Flying Eagles’ readiness to take on the world.

“They have prepared well but it is very difficult to predict the stage they will get to because the other countries a coming with the aim to win the trophy,” Adepoju told Goal.

“The level of preparation and understanding between the players will be very important.

“Having seen the squad list and with the preparation they were given, I believe that they will go far, but I can't say if we can win it.”

Nigeria’s best outing at the U20 World Cup was in 1989 and 2005, when they finished as runners-up behind Portugal and Argentina, respectively.