Nigeria’s head coach Nduka Ugbade says the team will be hugely motivated for their TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter final tie against Burkina Faso in Algiers on Thursday, as victory earns them a ticket to the FIFA World Cup.
The Golden Eaglets have won the World Cup five times and qualified for 12, and are looking to go back to the global showpiece.
“This match will be important for us as it will qualify us for the World Cup. Burkina faso has a really good team and we have played against them before and we experienced a very difficult match. We expect it to be the same in the quarter final,” Ugbade said.
The tactician adds; “My message before the match to the players is that these competitions are usually intense, and I told them we must have the will and play the match as it should, and stressed that winning makes us qualify for the World Cup.”
Ugbade’s side finished second in Group B, with the matches played in Constantine, and have recently relocated to Algiers where the quarter final duel will be played.
He says the players know what is required of them and is pleased with their state of mind ahead of the duel.
Meanwhile, defender Emmanuel Michael says the players are charged up and ready for what will be a difficult West African derby.
“We have prepared well for this match and we are ready for the tie. We want to give our best as a good result will qualify us for the World Cup and this is our ambition,” noted Michael.
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