Nigeria’s U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, have advised their fans not to panic as they battle to pick a World Cup ticket today at the ongoing Africa U-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria.
The Eaglets will face Burkina Faso in one of the quarterfinal matches and a win will earn the Nigerians a semifinal ticket and a slot to the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Head Coach, Nduka Ugbade, said, yesterday, that the Golden Eaglets have come so far in the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations with hard work and determination, adding that they won’t succumb to Burkina Faso and miss the World Cup ticket.
After beating South Africa 3-2 in their last group match, the Golden Eaglets and their officials arrived in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria on Monday, three days ahead of today’s quarterfinal clash with Burkina Faso’s Young Etalons at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
“We had an interesting match with South Africa, and it has prepared us well for further challenges in the competition,” Ugbade said. “We learnt a lot playing Zambia, Morocco and South Africa – all strong teams – in the group phase, and that was good furnace for us to be a better squad.
“The quarterfinal matches will be very hard nuts to crack because that is the step that earns you the World Cup ticket. None of the four games will be easy. Our interest is Burkina Faso, and we are working hard towards achieving success,” Ugbade stated.
Burkina Faso had an interesting last match of the group phase, coming from behind to defeat and dump out cup holders, Cameroun 2-1, in a fascinating encounter.
Nigeria also came from behind twice to edge South Africa 3-2 in a memorable encounter in Constantine, with the five goals scored by different players on the night.
Ugbade added: “My boys are focused on the World Cup ticket. After that, we can then focus on other objectives.”
Today’s match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso begins at 8.00 p.m.
Victory over the Young Etalons will earn Nigeria the opportunity to go for a record-extending sixth FIFA U17 World Cup title.
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