“We have no option again. Our backs are now against the wall and you should expect that we are going to react in a positive way. I don’t want to go into any permutations; we just have to win our last game.”
The above battle cry by the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, Garba Manu, underlines the importance of victory in today’s crucial last group match against Congo Brazzaville at the ongoing CAF Under-17 Championship in Morocco. The Eaglets had their pride bruised on Wednesday by the Baby Elephants of Ivory Coast with a nail-biting lone goal defeat in the second group game after opening their account at the tournament with an impressive 6-1 whitewash of Ghana’s Black Satellites.
It was the first time the team would taste defeat in 28 games since it was assembled more than a year ago. The Golden Eaglets, now second in Group B, behind the Baby Elephants of Ivory Coast, need outright victory against Congo today to redeem their pride and guarantee Nigeria a place in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup slated for the United Arab Emirates later in the year.
“We are sorry for the loss to Cote d’Ivoire and we are promising Nigerians a better performance starting with the game against Congo (today). We are determined more than ever to do our best and by the grace of God, we won’t disappoint Nigerians,” vice captain, Isaac Success, assured on behalf of the rest of the players ahead of today’s crucial tie.
Teammate and former captain of the Under-15 national team, Saliu Ali-Baba is no less upbeat about the team’s chance in today’s all-important match, while Coach Manu summed up the mood in the team’s camp with a declaration that his side was condemned to beat the Congolese, not only to redeem its bruised ego, but also, to stamp its ticket to the World Cup.
“It’s a shame that we lost to Cote d’Ivoire and it’s very painful because we have not lost a game before now. We are all very sad, but we have accepted the defeat in good faith. Our coaches will tell us what to do against Congo and Insha Allah, we are going to qualify for the World Cup,” Ali-Baba promised.
“We have no option again. Our backs are now against the wall and you should expect that we are going to react in a positive way. I don’t want to go into any permutations; we just have to win our last game.” Coach Manu declared. The coach, however, needs to reshuffle his pack and pattern for today’s clash, as his Congolese counterpart is likely to adopt the physical and tough style of the Ivorien team, which made the free-scoring Eaglets look ordinary in their last match.
Tournament’s leading goal scorer, Success, must rediscover his killer instinct today after firing blank against Ivory Coast. Other players expected to shoot Nigeria to the World Cup today include striker Kelechi Iheanacho and midfielder, Ifeanyi Matthew, who is expected to provide the killer passes for Success and Iheanacho to do the damage against Congo.
Ghana and Ivory Coast are expected to do battle in the second last Group B match today. Ghana is at the bottom of the group’s table with only a point from Wednesday’s draw against Congo, which is occupying the third position with two points behind Nigeria and Ivory Coast, the second and first placed sides with three and four points respectively.
The first two teams on the table after today’s matches will join Morocco and Tunisia to fly Africa’s flag at the World Cup later in the year.
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