As the countdown gets tighter towards Wednesday’s potentially explosive round of 16 clash between Nigeria and Argentina at this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, a former youth international, Oladimeji Lawal believes expectations of rewards from the federal government should spur the Nigerian team to victory.
Sports247 reports that the Flying Eagles face an uphill task this midweek against the most successful country in the Youth Mundial’s history, but Lawal (aka Poropo) stressed that knowing the juicy rewards that lie ahead of them once they do well could make a lot of difference for Aliyu Zubairu’s side.
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Lawal, who was part of Nigeria’s heroic squad that lost to Portugal during the 1989 World Youth Championship (WYC) final in Saudi Arabia, also pointed out that Zubairu’s current array of talents are the ones that will make the senior national team shine in years to come.
“This is the new generation of the Suoer Eagles, and this is where our best legs will come from in the next four, five to six years. So, I wish them all the best,” Lawal stated.
The former Compostella and Real Madrid B of Spain winger, who shot to limelight in the silver medal winning Golden Eaglets’ squad to Canada ’97 FIFA U17 World Cup, concluded by reminding Zubairu’s side that the great expectations of Nigerians are on their shoulders and they stand to get a presidential largesse if they do better at the ongoing competition.
“I just hope they will understand that picking a ticket into the next stage means a lot to the populace of Nigeria at home and abroad. Now that the federal government is rewarding hard work, they just have to do their best,” Lawal declared.
