Nigeria’s cadet national team, Golden Eaglets’ coach, Manu Garba has declared that the biggest target on his mind at the upcoming West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire is to qualify for next year’s continental showpiece.
Sports247 reports that Garba, who won the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with such talents like Kelechi Iheanacho and Taiwo Awoniyi in his team, is thinking of replicating the same feat with his new set of Eaglets’ players.
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The lads truly showed great promise in their build-up programme towards the WAFU-B contest, which was initially meant to take place in Abeokuta and Ikenne, but will now begin this weekend at Stade dy Lycee Scientifique in Yamoussoukro.
Having won 10 of their build-up matches, with two draws and a single loss, enacting 25 goals for and only five scored against them, Garba’s latest squad appears set to fly, as they begin their campaign against Benin Republic next week Wednesday and then tango Burkina Faso in their second group game.
Garba is already looking beyond both matches, as he has his eyes set on picking an U17 African Cup of Nations ticket, and the petit tactician affirmed that all his players are ready to shine and make Nigeria proud.
He declared, “I’m proud of the boys, and I know they are all ready to represent this country. They are not only ready to represent the country, but also to qualify for the under-17 AFCON, which is the main objective of us going to this WAFU tournament.”
However, Garba also admitted that some of his best lads had to be dropped after failing the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests for their age confirmations, then conceded that he will have to adjust his tactics according to the players now available to him.
He pointed out, “This is not the final team, but we are going with what is available for now. There was an official MRI test last week. We had a lot of players who were very, very good but, unfortunately, could not be here.
“I made sure that, before any player even comes for trials, they undergo an MRI test. But, under one month and two weeks, some of them rose from Grade 3 to Grade 5. That qualifies them to play at CAF and FIFA levels but, here in Nigeria, we don’t do that. We don’t want to get to the competition, and the players unfortunately shoot to Grade 6.”
Garba, who was in Nigeria’s under-20 squad that created waves at the 1983 World Youth Championship in Mexico, concluded by expressing optimism that all the players who will travel out to Cote d’Ivoire with him on Wednesday have what it takes to win the impending championship and pick a continental ticket.
“We’ve been very, very cautious, and the majority of our players are below the qualification limit. Three quarters of the boys are from Grades 1, 2 and 3; with only two of them from Grade 4. So, we are good to go,” Garba asserted.
