Coach Manu Garba has warned his boys against over confidence as the Golden Eaglets eye a place in the second round; knockout stages of the 15th edition of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the UAE.
Speaking at the team’s final training session as well as the official Press Conference on Monday, Manu said the victory against Mexico is all but forgotten when they face Sweden at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Tuesday.
Manu reminded the players about the unfortunate incident at the CAN African Championship in Morocco when they won their opening match with an identical 6-1 against Ghana only to concede a 1-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in the second match .
“We want you to focus only on our match against Sweden because that is the only thing that matters to us now,” he said at the training.”Don’t forget what happened to us in Morocco when we beat Ghana 6-1 in our first match but lost to Cote d’Ivoire in the next match.”
That defeat at Mohammed V stadium in Marrakech which was the team’s first in almost 30 matches still rankles Manu as he spoke in clear terms:” Brazil and Italy have both qualified for the second round because they won their first two matches. “We have no excuse not to follow on their footsteps by winning our second game against Sweden and I have no doubt in my mind that you can achieve it.”
History indeed favours the Golden Eaglets’ aspiration since they have failed to qualify for the second round stage of any tournament only once 10 years ago at the 10th edition held in Finland in 2003.
” We won’t and can’t allow history to repeat itself ,”noted hard working Chidiebere Nwakali who was bashed by the press and public for that cheeky penalty kick in the 5-4 loss to Cote d’Ivoire at CAN Cup final.”It was very unfortunate that we lost to Cote d’Ivoire in Morocco and that was a big lesson for us.
“Our focus is on Sweden and the coaches have reminded us about the need for total concentration,” added Nwakali who was singled out for his virtuoso performance against Mexico.
The same was said by Japhaet Raymond at the press conference: “We have forgotten about Mexico; our focus is on Sweden and by the grace of God, we shall be victorious.”
Meanwhile, Referee Nestor Pitana from an area of early Roman Catholic missionary called Corpus-Misiones in Argentina would be the umpire when Sweden and Nigeria exchange fireworks at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
Designated Match No. 24, the kick off is fixed at 20:00 pm local time which is 5:00pm in Nigeria with the 38-year-old Argentine alongside two of compatriots and another official from Costa Rica taking charge of the game.
Juan Pablo and Diego Bonfa would serve as Assistant Referee 1& 2 while Hugo Cruz would serve as the Fourth Official. The match commissioner is burly President of Panamanian Football Federation (FEPAFUT); Mr. Pedro Chaluja.
Meanwhile, both Sweden and Nigeria would be wearing their contrasting famous national team jerseys. The Golden Eaglets would spot their traditional green colours while the Swedes would wear yellow attire.
