After a brilliant start to life in Argentina, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will face Brazil in their final group game with top spot in the group on the line. Head coach Ladan Bosso remained upbeat on his boys’ chances against the South Americans in his media engagement before the game.
Bosso revealed that while he and his team were happy to have achieved their first objective of reaching the knockout rounds, they remain hungry for victory and would not back down against the Brazilians, who thrashed Dominican Republic 6-0.
“We have been able to fulfil our first objective for this championship: getting to the knockout stages. We will take it one match at a time from now onwards. We don’t want to take it easy and lose against Brazil; that will not be good for our winning mentality,” Bosso said.
The coach also spoke about Nigeria’s far from ideal record at U-20 level against Brazil and provided hope that the country would pick up a first win over the South Americans.
“Yes, we acknowledge that Brazil has always been a hard nut to crack for our team at this level. We have lost a number of matches to them over the decades, but there is always a first time. We are riding on a wave of robust confidence and though we do not under-rate them, we certainly do not fear them.”
Both teams will take to the field on Saturday (today) at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata with Brazil in need of all three points to go through and possibly top the group, and the Flying Eagles, who secured qualification against Italy , needing just a point to finish top of the pile.
Flying Eagles FIFA U-20 World Cup Head-to-head record against Brazil
Brazil 3-0 Nigeria (1983 Group Stage)
Brazil 2-0 Nigeria (1985 semifinals)
Brazil 4-0 Nigeria (1987 Group Stage)
Brazil 0-0 Nigeria (2005 Group Stage)
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COMMENTS
Good talk Bosso. Almighty God will support you and the boys.
Nigeria will do great in this competition in Jesu Name. Amen.
God bless Nigeria.
Tell the boys to continue playing as a team and not to be distracted by the scouts. As long as they continue to play for each other they will surely shine.
_ Fearless Flying Eagles _
The last time I wrote about the Flying Eagles, I remember declaring them as a team that can (potentially) snatch at least Bronze medals in this U-20 world cup in Argentina.
I still stand by that assessment.
Have they set the tournament alight? Nope. Are they playing a jaw dropping, vibrant and expansive brand of football? Absolutely not.
But, all the months the players have spent together (being drilled and honing theirs approach) coupled with Bosso’s practical and pragmatic methods are yeilding much fruit on grass in far away South America.
The Flying Eagles didn’t particularly delight me against Dominican Republic in their style of play neither they tantalise me against Italy in how they went about their business. But they got the job done by – in Bosso’s words – achieving their objectives with maximum 6 points.
And that is what is most important!
I see Bosso threading similar path as Nigeria U-17 Women’s coach Bankole Olowookere in last year’s world cup: with an underwhelming brand of football that still produced a podium finish via a disciplined and organised approach.
In Bosso’s first stint as the U-20 coach to the world cup, his Flying Eagles navigated the group stages without conceding a single goal but the came second with 2 wins and 1 draw.
The 55 year old Niger state born tactician is aiming to go one better this time by garnering maximum 9 points from what is a far tougher group this time around.
“We are riding on a wave of robust confidence and though we do not under-rate Brazil, we certainly do not fear them.” Said Bosso.
True – this Flying Eagles outfit are proving to be intrepid. The match against Brazil tonight will surely test their mettle.