Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has urged the U20 Boys, Flying Eagles, to give their all in their upcoming clash against Senegal's Young Lions of Teranga at the African Games, Soccernet.ng reports.
Gusau expressed disappointment with the Flying Eagles' performance so far in the tournament, where they lost to Uganda and narrowly defeated South Sudan with a goal from the penalty spot.
The head of the Nigerian football body emphasized Nigeria's reputation in youth football globally and urged the players to demonstrate their potential against Senegal.
“Nigeria has a high pedigree in youth football across the globe and that is a fact that should ring loud in the minds of every player wearing the green-white-green at that level. We did not fare well against Uganda and I gave the boys a piece of my mind.
“Against South Sudan, we should have done more and taken the three points quickly but had to struggle. I believe the players have the potential to do far more and they should start by showing their stuff against Senegal on Friday. It is a match we have to win to reach the semi finals.” he said.
The Flying Eagles find themselves in a crucial match against Senegal, with the outcome determining their qualification for the semi-finals.
Tunisia's withdrawal from the group reduced the number of teams, making every match crucial. With Uganda securing the first semi-final spot, Nigeria and Senegal are now in a direct battle for the second spot.
Meanwhile, the defending champions Falconets have secured their spot in the semi-finals of the women's event after impressive victories over Morocco and Senegal. With six points from their first two matches, they are set to face Cameroon in their final group game.
NB: Do you think the Flying Eagles are still capable of winning the Africa Games tournament with their recent dismally performance? Leave your comments below.
All these Local/Indigenous Coaches are just scams. They don’t have anything to offer. The very few of them that have gone outside the country to develop themselves are a little bit better.
Those that can not win anything with the aged group (U17, U21,U23) will be clamouring for Super Eagle jobs. Technically they are very very poor. They can make a change that will bring a revolution to a match.
The only problem we have is we don’t even know what we want. If not, how can we be mentioning people like: Austin Eguavour, Aigbogun, Leban Bosso, Olise, Ogbade and Amochachi as Coaches in Nigeria? They have done enough Havocs and should be asked to vacate the ministry of sport. Being a good footballer don’t automatically qualify you to be a good coach. The good coaches around the world went through series of trainings not by luck. Let them go and train themselves first and stop wasting our resources.