Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will, today, trade tackles with Senegal in one of the quarterfinals of the ongoing African U-20 Nations Cup with a view to securing one of Africa’s tickets to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The battle for the semifinal ticket will hold at the Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia, where Nigeria’s Head Coach, Aliyu Zubairu, says his boys will rise up to the occasion against the Young Lions of Senegal.

Following an unimpressive final group game against Kenya last week, many followers of the team dismissed their chances of doing anything substantial in this competition, especially as they are billed to meet the defending champions in the last eight of the championship.

Although the Flying Eagles went through their Group B campaign unbeaten, the quality of their game has not been impressive to their fans, who are used to seeing them dominating teams in Africa.

They held the Lion Cubs from Morocco, beat Tunisia 1-0 and played out a 2-2 draw with Kenya to earn the right to face Senegal today.

Senegal also finished second in their group C, which also included Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Central African Republic.

Two years ago, the Lion Cubs from Senegal pipped the Flying Eagles 1-0 in the two teams’ first match of the CAF U-20 Championship at the Cairo International Stadium, on the way to the Cubs’ first triumph in the competition, after they defeated Gambia 2-0 in the final. Nigeria finished third in that competition.

Speaking on the game, Zubairu said: “We know what to expect. It is a big match for both teams because the winner will be going to the World Cup. It is like a final match, and if you throw in the matter of the rivalry between our two countries, it means we must be disciplined and determined for the entire duration of the game. We will do just that.”