Flying Eagles coach may change guard

Flying Eagles coach, Manu Garba is considering starting with a new central defence pairing of Wilfred Ndidi and Zaharadeen Bello for today’s friendly against Morocco U20s. Manu appeared to have settled with Aliyu Abubakar partnering stand-in captain Ndidi in the heart of the back four. But in Monday evening’s training at the Wellness and Sport Center outside Casablanca, he paired Ndidi with Bello, who incidentally partnered Abubakar when the Golden Eaglets won a record fourth FIFA U17 World Cup last year. Otherwise, he has a settled starting XI with Adamu Abubakar in goal with Izu Omego at left back and Mustapha Abdullahi playing at right back. The midfield has Akinjide Idowu, Abdullahi Alfa, Bernard Bulbwa and Ifeanyi Matthew, who shone like a million stars in the 12-0 spanking of Lugbe United last week. The attack will be anchored by Taiwo Awoniyi and Alhassan Ibrahim aka ‘Mu-azam’ in Manu’s favoured 4-4-2 formation. However, Manu said he hopes to give all squad members a run out in Morocco as the Flying Eagles continue their buildup for next month’s AYC qualifier. “We want to win all our matches, whether they are friendlies, qualifiers or the World Cup. We must there take all the matches very seriously,” said the Flying Eagles handler. The team will train on Tuesday by 11am. Wednesday’s match is fixed for Rabat by 4pm, while the second game will be played on Friday from 11am in Casablanca. The Flying Eagles are due back in Nigeria on Saturday