By VICTOR OKOYE

Nigeria’s U20 team, the Flying Eagles, will begin training on Wednesday in Santiago, Chile, ahead of the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team arrived in the Chilean capital on Tuesday after departing Nigeria on Sunday night.

They used Tuesday to recover from travel fatigue and jet lag.

Double training sessions are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (local time).

The Flying Eagles are in Group F alongside Norway, Saudi Arabia and Colombia. They will open their campaign against Norway on Sept. 29.

The team will then face Saudi Arabia on Oct. 3 and Colombia on Oct. 6.

Head coach Aliyu Zubairu is leading the squad. He guided Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2025 CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Nigeria has reached the final of the FIFA U20 World Cup twice — in 1989 and 2005.

Zubairu is aiming to surpass those past achievements at this year’s tournament.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has lined up two friendly matches for the team. They will face host nation Chile and Australia during the 12-day training camp.

The 24th edition of the FIFA U20 World Cup will hold in Chile from Sept. 27 to Oct. 19. (NAN)