Flying Eagles head coach, Aliyu Zubairu has declared that his team’s recent WAFU B Championship victory is just the start of his broader ambitions.

Despite being newly appointed and having less than 38 days to prepare, Zubairu led the Flying Eagles to their second consecutive WAFU B U20 title.

In an interview with Brila.net, Coach Zubairu emphasized that the team’s next objective should be to surpass Nigeria’s best performances at the U-20 World Cup, where the country has twice finished as runners-up, in 1989 and 2005.

He believes the time has come for Nigeria to aim for the title and move to a new level on the world stage.

Nigeria U20 MNT head Coach, Aliyu Zubairu. Photo | NFF

“This is not even the beginning, maybe near the beginning,” Zubairu remarked. “If we have a clear project and believe in what we want to achieve, what’s stopping Nigeria from winning the U-20 World Cup? Nigeria has reached the final twice, so why can’t we go beyond that?”

The coach stressed the need for thorough preparation to compete at a world-class level. He noted that countries excelling internationally may not necessarily have superior players but often benefit from better preparation and structured development.

“We need to focus and prepare this team very well, so a better team can emerge in the future.

“The countries that are doing it are not better in terms of playing, Nigeria even have better but maybe if we have better preparation we can get to such level on the global stage.”