Golden Eaglets Coach Relieved To Reach Quarter-Finals
The head coach Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, Nduka Ugbade, says he was relieved to see his side come off the right side of a 3-2 thriller against South Africa and qualify for the quarter finals of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Constantine on Saturday.
The victory at the Stade Mohammed Hamlaoui in Constantine saw the Golden Eaglets finish second in Group B and earn an available automatic qualification slot.
“It was a really tough match because South Africa is a really good team and they gave us a tough time,” Ugbade said after the match.
“They have three players that are really good; Mabena (Siyabonga), Mkhawana (Vicky) and Dokunmu (Michael). They are very talented players and I was honestly scared of them at first,” Ugbade added.
The coach was delighted to see his side finally firing well to score three goals, having struggled to find the back of the net in their first two games despite creating so many chances.
“We worked a bit in training and we did some corrections,” Ugbade said. “We realised that it was purely psychological and we talked to the players and we saw an improvement today. We might have conceded two but I am glad we scored three.”
Nigeria will now await the second placed team from Group C, either Burkina Faso or Cameroon, in the quarter finals in their quest to quench a 16 year wait for the title and earn a record extending third crown.
The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria are seeking its third U-17 Africa Cup of Nations title after winning the competition in 2001 and 2007.
🇳🇬Wake up to the sweet sound of victory 🙌
Adversity has nothing on you.#SoarGoldenEaglets #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 pic.twitter.com/xtX5NJCP5Q
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) May 7, 2023
