Turkey 2013: F/Eagles, Uruguay in clash of interest
It will be a clash of third-bests when the Flying Eagles clash with Uruguay in a FIFA U20 World Cup Round of 16 game today.
The Flying Eagles finished third at the African Youth Championship in Algeria in April and Uruguay also placed third in the South American version of the qualifiers.
Turkey 2013, both teams started out on a losing note before they rallied to two straight wins to finish runners-up in their respective first round groups.
Today’s match will be the second time that Nigeria will be playing inside the Ali Sami Arena, the home ground of top Turkish club Galatasaray, while it will be a first for their South American foes.
Uruguay have also had to endure a trip from Antalya to Istanbul leading up to this match, while the Flying Eagles have stayed back after their win against South Korea to sample more of the joys of Turkey’s commercial capital city.
Los Charruas, as Uruguay are known, best performance in this competition was when they reached the final of 1997 edition, where they lost to hosts Argentina 2-1.
They finished third in 1979, fourth in 1977 and have reached the last eight on three further occasions.
However in their last three appearances, they twice crashed out in the Round of 16 and exited the 2011 edition in the first round.
Uruguay’s qualification for the 2013 tournament was boosted by a 3-2 win over world champions Brazil, who as a result are not in Turkey to defend their championship.
The Flying Eagles finished third at the African Youth Championship in Algeria in April and Uruguay also placed third in the South American version of the qualifiers.
KAYSERI, ENGLAND – JUNE 24: The Nigeria players line up for a team photograph before the FIFA U-20 World Cup Group B match between Cuba and Nigeria at Kadir Has Stadium on June 24, 2013 in Kayseri, Turkey. (FIFA)
Turkey 2013, both teams started out on a losing note before they rallied to two straight wins to finish runners-up in their respective first round groups.
Today’s match will be the second time that Nigeria will be playing inside the Ali Sami Arena, the home ground of top Turkish club Galatasaray, while it will be a first for their South American foes.
Uruguay have also had to endure a trip from Antalya to Istanbul leading up to this match, while the Flying Eagles have stayed back after their win against South Korea to sample more of the joys of Turkey’s commercial capital city.
Los Charruas, as Uruguay are known, best performance in this competition was when they reached the final of 1997 edition, where they lost to hosts Argentina 2-1.
They finished third in 1979, fourth in 1977 and have reached the last eight on three further occasions.
However in their last three appearances, they twice crashed out in the Round of 16 and exited the 2011 edition in the first round.
Uruguay’s qualification for the 2013 tournament was boosted by a 3-2 win over world champions Brazil, who as a result are not in Turkey to defend their championship.
No comments:
Post a Comment