SUPER 4: FLYING EAGLES UPBEAT AGAINST LEAGUE TOP GUNS

Nigeria's Flying Eagles, have expressed confidence they will give a good account of themselves at the expanded Super 4 tournament, which kicks off on Saturday at the Abuja National Stadium. 

The Flying Eagles and the Nigeria U23 team have been handed special invitations to feature in the pre-season competition, which has drawn league champions Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins. 

The Nigeria U20, who arrived Abuja on Thursday from their training base in Kaduna, will play their first match on Saturday at the Abuja National Stadium against league runners-up Enyimba. Kick-off is 3pm. 

On Monday, they will take on Pillars, before they battle Warri Wolves on Wednesday and Dolphins on Friday. Their final match in this round-robin competition will be Sunday, February 1, against Dream Team. Match times are 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. 

Flying Eagles assistant coach Nduka Ugbade said he is confident the team will do well in the Super 4. “We have worked hard in Kaduna and we believe the team will show this at such a high-performance competition like this,” Ugbade said.

 “This is a very good test for us ahead of the African Youth Championship in March in Senegal as it will afford us the chance to see how far we have gone in our preparations and make any necessary corrections before the AYC.” 

The national U20s have been boosted with the arrival of Musa Yahaya from the Tottenham Hotspur youth team and Chidera Eze, who is with the FC Porto youth setup. Skipper Musa Muhammed, Ifeanyi Matthew and Wilfred Ndidi, who have been away in Europe, are expected to join up before the team’s first game against Enyimba. 

Full Super 4 Fixtures: Day 1: January 24: Dolphins vs Pillars 1pm Enyimba vs Flying Eagles 3pm Warri Wolves vs Dream Team 5pm Day 2: Monday, January 26 Enyimba vs Warri Wolves 1pm Pillars vs Flying Eagles 3pm Dolphins vs Dream Team 5pm Day 3: Wednesday, January 28 Flying Eagles vs Warri Wolves 1pm Pillars vs Dream Team 3pm Dolphins vs Enyimba 5pm Day 4: Friday, January 30 Dream Team vs Enyimba 1pm Kano Pillars vs Warri Wolves 3pm Flying Eagles vs Dolphins 5pm Day 5: Sunday February 1 Warri Wolves vs Dolphins 1pm Pillars vs Enyimba 3pm Dream Team vs Flying Eagles 5pm