Club explains why Haliru Sarki did not perform to best at AFCON, reveal W’Cup expectations

The Flying Eagles player was instrumental in Ladan Bosso's team's success in the AFCON competition by providing an assist

President of Mahanaim Football Club, Simon Alfred, has stated why their star player Haliru Sarki fell short of expectations in the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations competition, Soccernet.ng reports.

According to the CEO of the club, the Flying Eagles star donning the Number 7 jersey for the team lost his father, which had a negative impact on his overall state of mind.

The Nigerian star was a key member of Ladan Bosso's side in the tournament, assisting Samson Lawal on his tournament-opening goal against Mozambique, which gave the Nigerian U-20 boys a 2-nil victory.

The president of the Abuja-based club, however, is of the opinion that the star has the full potential that he was unable to realise in Egypt and that he would do better in the World Cup competition presently taking place in Argentina.

“Four days to depart for the [AFCON] tournament, he lost his Dad, that was barely 10 days to the tournament. So, that kind of affected him” Alfred told Soccernet.ng.

Alfred continued by saying that the Mahanaim youngster can now handle this pressure better, and would provide his best effort in Argentina.

“We know this time he knows he has to cope with pressure. We said to him, ‘Look at Cristiano Ronaldo, who lost his daughter and still has to play, and he needs to do the job', so we are looking out for him this time, and we know he would perform better at the U-20 World Cup tournament” he added.

On Sunday, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria will play their first World Cup match against the Dominican Republic, and it is expected that they will win to safeguard their spot in Group D, which also includes Brazil and Italy.