Nigeria’s national amputee football team, the Special Eagles, have intensified preparations for the 2026 World Amputee Football Federation World Cup, which starts in 16 days in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico.

The tournament runs from November 13 to 22 and will feature 24 national teams. Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside defending champions Turkey, European contenders Spain and African rivals Egypt.

The Special Eagles are training at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja as they target a strong showing against some of the leading amputee football nations in the world.

As part of the build-up, they played a friendly against Right Value Football Academy on October 21 and drew 2-2.

Nigeria will need discipline and consistency to progress from a tough group, with the games against Turkey, Spain and Egypt likely to decide their fate.

The Special Eagles qualified for the tournament by finishing fourth at the 2024 Confederation of African Amputee Football Nations Cup in Egypt. It will be their second appearance at the World Cup after their debut in 2018, which was also hosted by Mexico.

Nigeria’s best continental result came at the 2019 African Nations Cup in Angola, where the team reached their first final and finished as runners-up.