Manchester City of England youth team player, Ayotomiwa ‘Tom’ Dele-Bashiru has disclosed that he and his colleagues in Nigeria’s under-20 national team, Flying Eagles are already expecting a physical game against Ukraine on Thursday.
Megasportsarena.com reports that it will be the third group match for both sides at this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup, with top spot in the pool up for grabs by the winner, and Dele-Bashiru admits the East Europeans will come out with all they have.
Memory will go back to June 22, 2005, at De Vijverberg, Doetinchem, in front of 9,600 spectators and South Korean referee, Kwon Jong-chul at the centre, when Nigeria needed an 80th minute sizzler from Taye (The Tornado) Ismaila Taiwo to eke out victory against Ukraine in the round of 16 of the then World Youth Championship (WYC) in Holland.
Dele-Bashiru might have read about that match, for him to note how fiery Ukraine can be, but it also includes current form, haven seen them in style thus far at Poland 2019, starting with their opening 2-1 win against USA, who Nigeria played in their second match on Monday.
The dark-skinned midfielder, who scored Nigeria’s third goal against Qatar, admitted his thoughts in a chat during Mega Sports early morning radio programme on Star 101.5 FM, Lagos.
Dele-Bashiru stated: “Ukraine will be a different game, they are more physical. We will have to take a different approach against them.
“We will have to distribute the ball better when we play against them, and try to avoid body contact, while staying totally focused all through.”
