Coach Manu Garba has declared that the Golden Eaglets will reclaim their sub-regional crown at the 2025 WAFU B U17 AFCON qualifying tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Golden Eaglets are already through to the semifinal of the competition after they spanked Benin 4-1 in their opening Group B match.
Tomorrow, they take on Burkina Faso to determine who wins the group after the Burkinabes also beat Benin 1-0.
“Every team wants to win every match in a competitive tournament, and so does Nigeria. We want to try as much as possible to win every match in this competition and by winning every match, we will be champions of the WAFU-B again because that is where my team belongs,” Manu Garba said during Friday’s press conference, ahead of the game on Saturday.
“We are here to play every match according to the laws of the game, but most importantly, we want to try as much as possible to win the match against Burkina Faso.”
He again praised the efforts of his young players against Benin Republic, noting that none of the players was in the last edition of the tournament in Ghana.
“My boys did very well against the Benin Republic. I did say that, that was their first international game. Most of these boys have never entered an airplane before coming to Ghana here. This is a new team. None of these boys featured the last time we played in the WAFU B U17 Championship in Ghana,” he said.
“As the tournament progresses, they will get better. In our last game, against the Beninoise, my captain was elbowed in the chest, so I had to bring him out.
“He has fully recovered now. I’m very optimistic that this team will get better.”
The game is slated for 4pm Nigeria time at the Stade Lycee Scientifique in Yamoussoukro.
