A member of the victorious Golden Eaglets’ squad at the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup in South Korea, Daniel Joshua has predicted that the current team will find Saturday’s WAFU-B U17 Championship fixture against Burkina Faso ‘easier’ than they had it in their opening game versus Benin Republic.
Sports247 reports that, though Burkina Faso earlier defeated Benin Republic 1-0 before the same team lost 4-1 to Nigeria and crashed out of the competition, Joshua believes the Eaglets should find it easier because they will enter the second group fixture with less tension than they had in their first match.
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Looking ahead of the game in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, the former Niger Tornadoes of Minna defender opined, “In a tournament like this, the first game is always the most difficult thing. Winning that game would have calmed their nerves, and they’ll be able to play the second game with better confidence.
“I know that they can do more. I know it will not be easy, and they have to fight for victory, but it will not be harder than the first one.”
Joshua then took a look at the Eaglets’ coach, Manu Garba, who won the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup with another set of teenagers in United Arab Emirates, which made him believe that the soft-spoken tactician has what it takes to win the WAFU-B contest and qualify for the continental showpiece.
Daniel, who had a career-wrecking car accident that confined him to a wheelchair in 2009, posited: “They want to write a new story, and they know that all Nigerians are fully backing them for success. At this under-17 level, Nigeria has been doing well.
“The coach has also been doing well, and he has won it before. So, he knows what Nigerians are expecting, and I know he’s going to deliver. He’s a good coach, he’s a good man, and I know he will do his best to deliver the trophy for Nigeria.”
