"What Flying Eagles Need To Do To Conquer Argentina" - Ex-U20 Coach Advises Bosso

"What Flying Eagles Need To Do To Conquer Argentina" - Ex-U20 Coach Advises Bosso 

By Gbenga Gboyega 

Former Flying Eagles assistant coach, Samuel Abimbola has advised the head coach of Nigeria U20 national team, Ladan Bosso on what to do to lead his boys to victory against the host, Argentina in the second round match, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Nigeria finished third in group D with six points from three games to book a Second Round ticket against Argentina who won all three group A matches with maximum nine points.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with BSN Sports, Samuel Abimbola, the former Flying Eagles assistant coach advised Ladan Bosso to take advantage and exploit the North Americans' weakness to win the knock-out stage match.

"What I expect from Head Coach, Ladan Bosso is to block the opponent's stronghold, and exploit their weak points." Abimbola Samuel told BSN Sports. 

He continued, "And the Head Coach also need to collaborate with other members of the crew to analyze Argentina's games. I could remember when we were to play Argentina in Bauchi, in Nigeria 2009, the Argentines had deadly strikers, one of them, Ortega, was very lethal.

"So what we did was to plant a player on him and others, to stop them from going anywhere.

"And we were able to stop him, and eventually won the game 2-1.

"I believe the Flying Eagles have ample opportunity because they have seen the Argentines play.

"So they should work on the team's stronghold by blocking it, then also exploit their weak points." 

Facing world powerhouses like Italy and Brazil in the group stages is one thing, but locking horns against the hosts, and most successful side in the grade's history - Albicelestes of Argentina, is definitely another. 

But Samuel thinks being the host can only be of advantage, but never a guarantee for progress. When asked about the team's chances against Argentina, he said;

"Well, sometimes being the host can be an advantage, but not all the time. 

"If we can be resilient, determined, and have belief, we can go ahead of Argentina. 

"But it hugely depends on the plans and strategy of the technical crew." 

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria are two-time runners-up in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, after being finalists in Saudi Arabia 1989, and the 2005 edition in the Netherlands, losing 2-0 to Portugal in the former, and 2-1 to current opposition, Argentina in the latter. 

With the odds stacked against the Eagles, Samuel remains objective.

"I want to believe when we get to the bridge, we will cross it. But if we get there, we can now plan on winning the title. 

"However, the current challenge is how to bypass Argentina.

"That's why I said we've all watched each other play, so they will analyze our matches, as do we theirs.

"The ultimate aim is to go through."

The Round of 16 fixture between Nigeria and Argentina will hold on Wednesday, 31st of May, 2023, by 10 pm Nigerian time.