Ajibade Olusesan 
Flying Eagles of Nigeria face arguably their toughest match of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup as they clash with hosts and tournament favourites Argentina in the round of 16 of the tournament in San Juan Wednesday (today).
Argentina are the most successful country in the category and have been in excellent form in the ongoing competition having won all their matches racking up 10 goals and standing as favourites to progress to the quarterfinal on Wednesday. They beat Uzbekistan, Guatemala and New Zealand in their group games letting in just a single goal.
Alejo Véliz and Luka Romero have been standout performers for the hosts, with three and two goals, respectively. Their goal-scoring prowess, coupled with their technical abilities, will pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s defence.
However, Head Coach of the Nigerian team, Ladan Bosso says his side will not be intimidated by the physicality of the opponents and the capacity crowd expected at the venue. Despite winning their first two matches, including beating early ravemakers Italy in commanding fashion, the Flying Eagles lost to Brazil 2-0 in La Plata on Saturday and some bookmakers think they stand no chance against the pumped-up home team.
Bosso said yesterday, as his boys prepared for their official training session at match time (6pm Argentine time and 10pm Nigeria) that his Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallists will be ready to give as much as they receive in Wednesday’s encounter.
“This is the World Cup and it is wrong to under-rate any team. We won two of our three matches and had the same number of points in our group as Brazil and Italy. We are no pushovers in this campaign. “It is going to be an interesting game. We want the quarter-final ticket and the Argentines also want the quarter-final ticket. We will go in there and dig our feet into the ground.”
