Flying Eagles will Fly - Manu Garba

Head coach of Nigeria's Men U-20 football team, Manu Garba has expressed confidence that his team will triumph at next year's African Youth Championship (AYC) even though they have been drawn in the toughest first round group.

The coach was reacting to the draws in Cairo, Egypt yesterday which pitched Nigeria against hosts Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Congo in Group A.

"Our group seems to be tougher than the other group which has Ghana, Mali, Zambia and South Africa, but I believe we will qualify to the semi-finals along with Cote d'Ivoire.

"There will be no easy groups or matches. We therefore have to prepare very well and be motivated to achieve our targets," said Manu.

The Flying Eagles class of 2015 was built around the country's U-17 team who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year in the United Arab Emirates.

Last year, they suffered defeats at the hands of African U-17 champions Cote d'Ivoire at the U-17 championship in Morocco.

However, Manu has insisted they will not be seeking revenge when both teams clash again in Senegal.

"We are not driven to avenge the loss in Morocco because this will be a different competition and we will have two different teams from the ones from last year," he argued.

"We respect Cote d'Ivoire because they have a great footballing culture, but we hope to beat any team we come up against."

The African Youth Championship will be played between March 8 and 22.

The Flying Eagles have won a record six AYC titles with their last triumph being in 2011. They finished third last year in Algeria.

The semi-finalists will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

The Flying Eagles will play the opening game of the 19th edition of African Youth Championship against hosts Senegal.

The opening match will take place at the Leopold Senghor Stadium in Dakar on 8 March 2015 before Congo welcomes Cote d'Ivoire later in the other game of the first day.

Three days on, Nigeria will face Congo while hosts Senegal lock horns with Cote d'Ivoire in an-all Francophone affair, both at the Leopold Senghor Stadium. 

Nigeria's final group game will be against Cote d'Ivoire at the Caroline Faye Stadium in Mbour, located along the coast of the West African country.