The National Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, would depart Abuja for Cairo on Wednesday for a two-tie international friendly match against their Egyptian counterparts.
A squad of 25 players and nine officials breezed into Abuja from their base in Calabar, Cross River State on Tuesday en route to Cairo.
Also expected on the trip is Coach Siji Lagunju, the chief technical officer at the Nigeria Football Federation.
The tune up friendly was at the instance of the Nigeria Football Federation and the Egyptian Football Association ahead of their teams African U-17 Championship qualifiers.
While the Golden Eaglets were drawn by into the second round of the CAN Under-17 qualifiers for Niger 2015, the Junior Pharaohs dispatched Sudan 7-3 on aggregate in the first round and they would respectively meet Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo later this month.
Last May, the Golden Eaglets handed a 3-2 and 3-1 defeat to the Junior Pharaohs in Kaduna and the return leg in Cairo would see the two sides do battle twice again on July 4 and 6.
Before departing Kaduna last time, Egypt’s coach, Gamiel Mohammed Ali, vowed to pay back Nigeria in their own coins and it remains to be seen how possible that is based on the strength of Golden Eaglets.
“We are expecting a more difficult game in Cairo,” stated Prince Udofia, Golden Eaglets’ coordinator. “Of course, the Egyptians would want to avenge their last defeats against us but our team has really improved over time.
“It is going to be competitive and I think it would be good preparatory matches for our qualifiers against Congo.”
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