Coach Nduka Ugbade has said his Golden Eaglets are now on their way back to Nigeria and not getting set for a Sunday showdown against Senegal in the U17 AFCON because they failed to make the most of the many chances they created against Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso avenged a 2-1 loss to Nigeria in the WAFU B final last June in Ghana when they edged past their West African rivals by the same scoreline Thursday night in Algiers.
The loss denied Nigeria qualification to the FIFA U17 World Cup later this year as well as a place in the semifinal of the U17 AFCON in Algeria.
“Everything worked as we had planned, but we could not score with the chances we had,” said Ugbade after the disappointment of the loss to Burkina Faso.
“We paid dearly for that.
“We learn the lessons and we move on.”
Poor finishing, hard luck and lack of discipline back in defence ensured the Eaglets despite their dominance and the better chances they created will be the team heading home.
“The players are disappointed of course, but we need to support them because they need to continue their careers,” he further urged.
“We should work on their development because I believe that some of these players will eventually move to the senior national team.”
