Battle of Eagles U20 Afcon: Tunisia coach warns they know Nigeria's strengths and weaknesses

The 30 June Stadium in Cairo will host a Group B heavyweight clash on Thursday as Nigeria' Flying Eagles and Tunisia's Eagles of Carthage begin their U20 Africa Cup of Nations campaigns.

Including their two-legged encounters, Nigeria and Tunisia have faced each other five times, with Nigeria winning three, Tunisia winning one, and one match ending in a draw.

Nigeria is the most successful team in the history of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations, having won the competition seven times out of sixteen semifinal appearances.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Tunisia coach Abdelhai Ben Soltane admitted that the young Eagles of Carthage were lucky to be invited to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations finals, after Ivory Coast declined to host the tournament.

"We performed well in the qualifiers but didn’t qualify. Fortunately, we got the chance to participate as replacements for Ivory Coast after the tournament was moved to Egypt," he told reporters. 

"Now, we are here to win the title and secure a spot at the World Cup."

The coach also highlighted the benefits of playing in Egypt, citing shared culture and Egypt's proven track record in hosting major tournaments. 

"We seek to benefit from hosting the tournament in Egypt, based on Egypt's extensive experience in organizing major events, as well as the similarity of customs and traditions between Egypt and Tunisia.," Abdelhai Ben Soltane added. 

On facing Nigeria, Ben Soltane said Tunisia is ready. "We’ve studied Nigeria’s strengths and weaknesses. We know they want a strong start, just like us."

Tunisia have not beaten a West African country at the U20 AFCON since 1987 when they defeated Guinea.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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