Nigeria’s youth national team, Flying Eagles’ coach, Isah Ladan Bosso has admitted that his side will come up against a tough opposition in Ghana this Wednesday at the West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone-B competition in Porto Novo, Benin Republic, megasportsarena.com reports.
Having settled for a 1-1 draw in their first game of next year’s African U-20 Cup of Nations qualification competition and will now be without a key defender, who got sent off in their opening game last Sunday, Boso admitted his side will be anxious to turn the table, but assured that they will stay focused for victory.
The military officer-turned-soccer tactician, who handled the Flying Eagles’ squad that had the like of Efe Ambrose, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Aide Brown Ideye and Elderson Uwa Echiejile at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, stressed that his wards are determined to win Wednesday’s game.
He added that his wards will go all out to get a place in the semi finals when they confront their fellow-Anglophone West African arch rivals at Stade Charles de Gaulles, where he affirmed that the Flying Eagles will laugh last against The Black Satellites.
With only three teams in Group B, the seven-time African champions require a win to avoid any unforeseen circumstances to advance to the knock-out rounds, but Bosso will not have on offer this time the energetic Chris Nwaeze, who put Nigeria ahead in the 61st minute against the Ivorians but got sent off for a second bookable offence later on.
Bwaeze’s exit was loose point for Bosso’s side and, though they held their own firmly, battling tooth and nail, they could not hold out till the very last whistle, as they conceded a late equalizer to drop two points in Sunday’s game.
Nonetheless, Bosso remains upbeat about his side’s quality, with a view that lessons learnt from the opening clash would be put to good use on Wednesday, and he added: “I thought we did enough to pick up the three points against the Ivorians.
“We lost concentration towards the tail end of the game and were punished for it. We controlled the game for most parts and should have won but the red card destabilised my boys and put us out of sync tactically. The clash with Ghana will be tough but we are ready.
“The boys understand what is at stake and I have confidence they will do the nation proud. Our target here remains the same: winning the tournament and qualifying for the CAF U20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania.”
Bosso’s words were echoed by one of his playrs, Mike Zaruma, who captained the team against The Junior Elephants, as he declared with optimism. “Taking only one point from the tie with the Ivorians was a tough one because we played better and created more chances to win the game.
“We felt disappointed but that is behind us now and Ghana is the focus. We know that we must win to enhance our chances of reaching the knockout stage. I believe in what we can do as a team. We are ready to pick the three points against Ghana in order to make Nigerians happy.”
