The head coach of the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, Nduka Ugbade is certain that his team would qualify for the 2023 Under-17 World Cup.
The Golden Eaglets must win Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the Under-17 African Cup of Nations in Algeria later tonight to qualify for the semi-final of the tournament. That will automatically qualify Nigeria for the forthcoming Under-17 World Cup in December.
If Nigeria scale through, it would make it a record-tying 11th Under-17 World Cup that the Eaglets have participated in.
In the last group stage encounter in Constantine, Ugbade’s team defeated South Africa 3-2 to secure their spot in the quarter-finals. On the other hand, Burkina Faso overturned a goal deficit to beat defending champion Cameroon 2-1.
The Eaglets have had the most success of any nation in the World Cup’s history with five titles and three runners-up trophies.
Brazil are the second-most successful team with four triumphs and two runner-up medals.
Ahead of the Nigeria Vs Burkina Faso Under-17 AFCON clash which will kick off at 8 PM WAT tonight, coach Ugbade insisted that the Young Etalons won’t stop his team from attempting to win a record-extending sixth Under-17 World Cup trophy later this year.
Ugbade said, “We are prepared for the game on Thursday and further challenges in the competition.
“The quarter-final matches will be very hard nuts to crack because that is the step that earns you the World Cup ticket”.
He added, “The team have not come this far to drop out. We are focused hard on qualifying for the World Cup. After that, we can then focus on other objectives.
“We learned a lot playing Zambia, Morocco, and South Africa and it has helped the team get better.”
