Nigeria Olympic Eagles start dia warm-up matches for di next stage of Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations qualifiers with 0–0 draw against Remo Stars onSaturday,31 October 2026. ACLSports and AllNigeriaSoccer report di result from Remo Stars Stadium for Ikenne, Ogun State. Na friendly dem play, no be qualifying match.
Éric Chelle team of players wey dey play forNigeria start with Michael Atata as goalkeeper and Aderemi Adeoye as captain, according to ACLSports match report. Abdulmuiz Adeleke lead di attack. Di match give players from di domestic-league group chance to play together as preparation continue forNovember matches against Democratic Republic of Congo.
Di two goalkeepers help keep di score unchanged. ACLSports report say Remo goalkeeper Emmanuel Olisa stop Adeleke from scoring, while Atata stop Taiwo Cole shot from far late for di game. Chelle also change players during di match. Di chances and changes na part of practice match wey don finish; dem no prove who go start di competitive matches.
Goalless friendly give coaches things to review, but e no answer all di questions wey matter for qualification. Nigeria no allow opponent score, but Nigeria sef no score. Na dat be di result wey person fit measure. E too early to use one preparation match predict success or failure against different opponent across two matches.
Di schedule wey Nigeria Football Federation announce before, and Voice of Nigeria publish on 23 October, put di away match against DR Congo for TP Mazembe Stadium, Lubumbashi, on 13 November. Dem schedule return match for Ikenne on 17 November. Team wey win di two-leg tie go enter final qualifying round for 2027 Under-23 AFCON forEgypt; e no mean direct qualification forOlympics.
Na dat African tournament suppose decide who go represent Africa for men football for Los Angeles 2028. Nigeria Olympic football honours include gold for 1996, silver for 2008 and bronze for 2016. Dis present team still get qualifying stages to pass before dem fit pursue another medal. Saturday draw na part of preparation; dem never decide di competitive result.