Ibrahim Said’s hat-trick ensured the Golden Eaglets sailed into the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Ecuador in their Group B clash on Monday night at the Estadio Olimpico , Giaonia, reports Completesports.com.
Said confounded Ecuador with a lethal form, netting all three Nigeria’s goals in the thrilling encounter, while Ecuador got their goals through Daniel Jinadu’s own goals and Johan Mina’s penalty kick.
Both teams came out blazing from the blast of the whistle with the intention of seizing the initiative.
Ibrahim Said celebrates a goal with teammates
It was Nigeria that however took the lead in the seventh minute with Said capitalising on a defensive blunder to put his side ahead.
The lead lasted just five minutes with Jinadu’s back diverting home Mina’s long range effort veering off the upright.
The Eaglets dominated the remaining part of the first half but were unable to regain their lead.
Ecuador took the lead for the first time in the game when Mina converted from the spot.
The South Americans looked to be coasting home with an important win before Said struck twice in the last five minutes to hand the Eaglets their second win in the competition.
Manu Garba’s boy’s will face Australia in their last Group B game on Friday.
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
Nice one guys. I’m proud to be a Nigerian.
This team is not right! there is something fundamentally wrong with the team, no cohesion, or purpose in play. I mean how can 4 players from the same team surround the football and expect not to get in each others way? The defence, do not even get me started, not sure how the coach was allowed to manage this team for so long and only have these boys to show for it.
We have been lucky so far, when we meet a team that can defend, all the lucky goals we have been scoring will dry up!! This is not a true Nigerian U17 team, compared to others this team is not RIGHT!
You need to understand that you are referring to teenagers here! Why can’t you give them some credit for their achievements? These young players are still learning so what they need now is encouragement
Thank u Victor, d coach just need to work on our defence line. And d attackers need to compose their self in front of goal. They are trying. I like their attacking instinct.
@ Andrew,winning the tournament is not the primary objective for the under age categories rather to discover talents amongst them who can serve the country in the long run.
Notwithstanding,coming home with ultimate prize is a bonus and as a Nigerian we hope the cup comes back to us but if we can’t achieve that,discovering a few talents after the tournament is an achievement itself.
@Greenturf I disagree with you on this one they are actually young and winning the tournament is not our priority but discovering talents. Let’s tell ourselves the truth for once, is this the best we can offer? Since the inception of this underage tournament have you seen any Nigerian team that play poorly as this?. They’ve been fortunate winning matches but not impressive. Just few players deserved to be in that team. Do you know the defense has not been tested? Let’s wait until they play a good attacking team then they will expose this team. I appreciate their enthusiasm and fighting spirit but let’s see how far it will carry them.
@Ndubuisi thank you for backing my exact thoughts up. Looking at the team, i see a disjointed group of players who have been lucky so far. When they meet the really good teams whose defence is strong and can hold onto any goal they score, i wonder how the team will react. Cannot wait till the knock out phase where the good teams will meet each other
Come up with your own team , Mr Right!
In the recent time no u17 team is underdog, if you people respect opponents as well you will praise eaglets. Tajikistan defeated Cameroon in their first match.
Mr Complains. Lose a match, you complain; win, you complain; draw, you complain. Do your own children start running without learning how to walk? I too, have reasons to complain for your atrocious write-up, but have I done so?
laugh out loud
Dnt let me use an unguided word on u ok, I mean r u talking abt the same match I just watch?
I happen to agree with some of your sentiments. The 2013 and 2015 squads also comprised teenagers, yet their attacking flair and clean sheets were record-breaking. Constructive criticism or suggestions should not be taken as though it was meant to put down the team. It only reflects a desire to see improvement. But for me, the lads need to be more alert to their defensive weaknesses. No doubt Mr. Garba will rectify this aspect in the coming games. I wish them the very best right to the championship.
So constructive criticism is saying that a team that bossed close to 60% possession and pegged the opponents back in their own half for most of the game does not have cohesion or purpose….???
Constructive criticism is saying a team who has scored 7 goals in 2 matches are JUST lucky…..???
I have said it b4, some people will have to go and form their own national team and coach the team to success for us to believe they are know what they are saying at all.
@Dr.Drey my friend have you taken your time to access this players individually. Are u impressed with some of them making the team? Do we actually have no 3 who cannot pull a decent cross? Have you carefully looked at their play even though they bossed close to 60%? Did you notice that some of them can only pass the ball to opponents. Did you also notice the defense cannot head ball out both in first and second match. Then back to my question. Is this the best we can offer. I don’t care if they win the tournament or not but selection of players should not be based on sentiment but we deserve to get the very best. This is not a place to assemble players to market to foreign clubs. Now that they have qualified let’s see the bench in action if we can get 1 or 2 players who can replace some in that first 11 that has no business in Brazil.
@ Ndubuisi
This was may take on the team after the match this morning…..
“Meanwhile…it will take a team that has got enough stamina to beat this team….but that might be at the later stages of the tournament when the toddlers have been separated from the boys.
Can this team get to the finals…..maybe…just maybe…..!
Can they win this trophy…..my wager on this team still is that they haven’t got that all round balance to win it.
Our defence is still seriously suspect…..I dont know why Manu is opting for a 3 man defence….what…at U17 level….???? Even senior professionals find it very difficult interpreting the back 3 perfectly…not to talk of 15 & 16 year olds.
We also do not have a left full back and that is hurting us in many ways than one. Amoo seems also the only natural leftfooter in the team and that gap is really showing….reason we are not seeing so many of those diagonals that was the trademark of an average Manu Garba team.
Overall…an interesting game for a neutral. But the team needs to learn to be calmer on the ball, play more of the simple pass into space, rather than the complicated pass to feet and be more dynamic in their play especially in using the full width of the field in the final third.
Looking forward to the next game against the Aussies”
….Clearly, you will see that I have a few reservations about the team as it is currently set up. But to now start rubbishing the whole team and the efforts of the coaches is going to be criminal and outright.
I have taken my time to assess the players in the team and I am satisfied with the raw talent level I am seeing in the players that have played so far, as I have been following the team since the WAFU Zone B qualifiers. Even though I have reservations on some who where dropped eg the likes of Oduko and co. But for 16 year olds…..these guys sure have the basics….only that just a few have that ‘extra’ that separates ordinary from extra-ordinary.
I am still very furious with the coaches for not going to the tournament with a leftback or as many left footers as possible as I highlighted above….and for the reason why he is implementing a complex tactic such a back 3 at this level. However, their play can only get better from what we see now….their passing is crisp and very good…they only tend to rush things in the final third…their ball recovery and ball rotation too is very good, and will only get better as the tournament progresses. The rush of blood we are witnessing in other departments of the team is also the same problem with the defence….if only they can learn to be calmer. That back 3 tactics again is something the coach has to look into…these are just 15 and 16 year olds for God’s sake….often times, you see 2 CDs chasing the same ball and leaving a gaping hole on either the left or right side of the 18 yard box. We were very lucky Ecuador didn’t exploit this weakness yesterday. We shouldn’t expect overtly tidy defending from 16 year olds like we see in the EPL or Serie A.
I will only just advice the team takes a chill pill anytime they are on the field. It is understandable they are young boys and all want a piece of the action, knowing fully well there are scouts from around the world in the stands. They all want to sell themselves which is normal, and you can see from the way they play that these guys are confirmed street footballers. Tireless running….eager to impress….urgency even when they are at an advantage…..these are attributes of street football.
As regards the selection of the team…I wouldn’t like to say much on that, because I actually do not know much about that. but what I do know is that about 9 of these guys were scouted at the Zenith Bank U15 national championships last year…while some of them were promoted from the U15 national team.
It is only an hypothesis to claim there are “BETTER” players out there…..we might never be able to test all the 16 year olds in Nigeria to get the “VERY BEST”
Apart from the story behind the Abba Bichi guy, I dont know if there is any other player on this team who wasnt picked on merit, so I wouldnt want to conclude on that…..but in 2 games, we have been in a situation where we desperately needed goals, and yet Manu doesnt have enough confidence and trust in Abba Bichi to throw him into the pitch at such times to get the goal…that speaks volumes.
It is typical of Naija coaches to go to tournaments with only 15 good players and the remaining will be cheerleaders….from Siasia to Keshi to Amunike to John Obuh…..all of them. Once 2 to 3 players get injured, the team crashes out. Manu still remains the only one, who has managed to give us a complete team in which anyone can come in for anyone and the team will still be firing on all cylinders (his 2013 team). Whether this one also is a complete team…only time will tell.
And pls…No 2 generations of teams are the same…lets stop all this comparison of 2013, 2015 2019 whatever. Our 2015 team was nothing like the 2013 team….infact, the 2015 team too had their own deficiencies, especially in defense…..this is 2019 and lets accept that we have a new set of players with their own unique selling points. 2013 and 2015 teams didnt have any players in the calibre of Amoo and Tijani…both 2015 and 2019 team does not have any player of the calibers of Iheanacho, Isaac Success, Musa Mohammed or Dele Alampasu. So if we are all expecting likes for likes….they we will only be mistaken.
The tournament is still young…lets hope the team gets better as it progresses and see how far they can go. They should just try to be calmer, play a bit slower and take their time to work that barcelona-esque mathematics that splits even the tightest defense open, where all of a sudden, after moving the ball from left to right and right to left, the attacker will be one on one with the goal keeper.
In the meantime….let the kids enjoy the tournament while we too should enjoy the tournament.
*Assessed
@dr.drey please what is the story behind this Abba Bichi boy?
Just chipping in a word. Dr. Drey will throw more light.
I think Bicchi is representing the political class, polishing his CV and collecting alawi. He won’t kick the ball. Of course, he’d be busy picking water bottles hahaha!
Well….story goes that Abba, the son of a top director-general in the nation’s security outfit, is schooling in China abi na Malaysia sef …..(so our elites now send their children abroad not only for tertiary education, but secondary education too…secondary schools don finish for naija….No ‘froblem’)…..and is only at home on holidays.
As a typical naija kid, the boy taps soccer over there too so can at least kick the round leather around. An a typical elite kid, dude strolled into the U17s camp with the help of topdogs in NFF and his best attributes according to Manu Garba himself is that he greets well and pick bottles after training. (I am not shocked at this because I personally know a young kid who was dropped from one of our age grade teams simply because he doesn’t greet well….Lolz…apparently the coaches wanted a kid born and raised abroad to always dobale whenever he greets)
Back to the Bichi story…..so according to Manu, the boy greets well and also picks bottles in training, hence was listed to be on the plane to Brazil after the main guys had gone with the 1st batch. In Brazil, the eaglets played 3 friendlies, Abba Bichi, listed as a striker, didnt play any of the 3, talk more of scoring goals, but still made the team. PLS DONT ASK ME HOW…!
We have played 2 matches so far where we needed goals like there is no tomorrow and guess what, the coach hasnt had confidence to throw this kid into the fray to wave the kind of magic he waved that made him make the WC team ahead of others who have been with the team since last year. Something similar to what we say with Aigbogun in the U20s when a certain Emeka Chima or so, who was controversially included in the team as a striker, was super-glued to the bench, with seat belt sef all through, yet we were always desperately in need of goals all through the tournament.
Now isnt this turning out to be a wonderful holiday for our little boy…??? The guy had better featured in our last match and even get goals in that match,otherwise, these ‘conspiracy theories’ might just begin to make sense.
The Golden Eaglets may have secured a second round at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil, but team officials have revealed Abba Bichi, the son of the DSS chief, will most likely not be risked against Australia Friday night in a final group game.
Sahara Reporters reported that coach Manu Garba initially rejected the imposition of the player on his team, but had to succumb amid threats.
Why Was Abba Bichi Picked For 2019 U17 World Cup?
Bichi does not enjoy the confidence of the coach, who is now most likely not to play him in Brazil.
The boy, who is schooling in China, did not feature in the team’s three warm-up games in Brazil and has so far been an unused sub at the World Cup.
“Bichi, the DSS DG’s son, might not play for the team because the coaching crew cannot vouch for his ability,” according to the report.
“We may not get to see him play a crucial part in the tournament except in games that the team does not place importance on.”
According to Sahara Reporters, Bichi, 15, was not on the 50-man provisional squad submitted to FIFA in August.
“Bichi’s name is conspicuously missing from the provisional squad, as he was never part of the team prior to his inclusion,” the report said.
Sahara Reporters said the NFF have refused to clear the air on the sudden inclusion of Bichi Junior on the U17 World Cup squad.
https://scorenigeria.com.ng/golden-eaglets-wont-risk-abba-bichi-coach-manu-not-confident-of-boy-not-on-provisional-squad-report/
It was said that Manu doesnt want the boy but Nff bigwigs insisted he must take the boy because they want to avoid being prosecuted by EFCC and ICPC for some financial embezzlement that happened recently. So Abba Bichi is being used to appeal to the DSS as his father is the current head of DSS.
You are so right! I thought it was just me oh. I watched the first half and I was like, are these eaglets playing the U-17 world cup or a 5-a side local monkey post competition. It didn’t look like they applied any tactics in that game and them get coach oh!
You are wrong. These boys are good. The team is playing with more understanding now. They met a team in Ecuador who has a very experienced coach. They were very organized in defence. Sometimes we need to be cautious with our comments. The team is not there yet but they gave all to win that game yesterday.
Under aged competition is not all about winning, the ultimate goal is to unearth talent. In all my years of watching Nigeria football, the worse set of under 17 was the silver winning 2001 while because it never produce a single player that made it to super eagle but compare to the 2003 edition that produce mikel, obasi, late Isaac promise. Even though they were eliminated in the group stage, at one point they have over four of the players in that team playing for super eagles.
Just one true player in this team, AMOO. The rest definitely, can’t see them going anywhere near what Osimene, Chukweze etc are achieving. Disjointed play, lacking good football skills, just lacking everything Nigeria age group footballers used to produce. Very obvious they have been winning simply because of physical edge they have over their opponents, reason their winning goals come during the late minutes, when the other teams might have tired out. Yes, I m one that will never emphasize winning under age as against future talents discovered but any honest person will agree that this team lack talents apart from Amoo. These just confirm how selection has been politically influenced. Shame to a country that is promoting mediocrity while sacrificing excellence. How on earth that outside left is better than Oduko? How on earth will Manu keep leaving Amoo on d bench? The answer is, he is only just reading out his criminal masters script. Now it’s becoming clear that those dropped players Malcolm Ebiowe, Akande n others that went to U-17 AFcon didn’t have political big wig to support them hence they got dropped. Very boring u-17 team Nigeria has ever produced.
@glory find knife to reduce their body or call NFF not to give them food anymore.
Pure truth @Glory it was really boring watching this bunch of players. Imagine the captain playing long ball throughout to unknown destination and the coach could not caution him. I thought they will improve in the second half but it continued that way until their opponent got tired. I have not been critical of our teams and coaches but have to break my silence cos if is super eagles and Rohr we will not hear in this forum.
@Glory, THANK GOD SAY MAN NO BE GOD COS IF MAN BE GOD WE FOR DON DIE, WE FOR DON KPEME.
Chia humans ‘mmadu a yii go’. Mr we know you don’t see any talent it’s ok by every one so far you are not a football agent or scout of any meaningfull soccer team around the world, so this boys destinies are not tied to you in ANY WAY at all.
I am Igbo, and while my dad was watching the game with me, we complained bitterly of the Coach making his fellow northerners and westerners the core of this team, but on seeing the way they kept running tirelessly around the pitch with so much purpose and zeal to excel, we had to admit that its like people from those areas are more athletic, even before the 3rd goal was scored.
If you talk about Talent this bunch of 16year old are very talented unless you need magnifying glasses, what do you call a 30 yard curler from teenager’s on two separate occasions under intense pressure to find a goal (Luck abi).
/Anyway we still de thank God sey man no be God/
@ Samchi. Love your line if man be God. But remember God will frown at deceptive minds that refuse to say the truth but twist it for self gratification. I stand by my statement that this set apart from Amoo LACK d skill set to make the headlines later on except some miracle happens which they have to pray for. Samchi, top teams are not interested in the physical/ fitness of u-17 players but on potential technical ability, good understanding of d game, ability on one on one, etc. No doubt this group, like every other Manu team, has got ability to play two hours without getting tired but when teams that can do same come forward, what will they offer,I boldly tell you, NOTHING. Reason despite winning u-17 five times, Nigeria can’t even boast of winning u-20, because other teams will by then have raised their physical level. Now who in this team is better than Musa Mohammed,Musa Yahaya, d NWANKALI brothers, in terms of speed, stamina n skill on d ball but where are those players today?. Look man, you only need to be around Europe to watch what kids are doing with the ball n understand why those players are failing to make it. I love Nigeria n my fellow nigerians better than you or anyone else may ever imagine,reason it hurts to see how criminals in political position are destroying everything good in nigeria. If these are truly the best we can afford n combine with what we saw with our home based, then sad to say our football is dead. You must understand that under age competitions are a stage for a player to showcase his ever flowing reservoir of football skills but only Amoo is doing that at the moment.
Technically, the team is poor, but they’ve got individual skills..they run faster than the ball most times. They need to be calm with the ball..
_ Is Attack Attack Attack Enough? _
A feature of Nigeria’s game that has laid dormant for sometime now has been resurrected by the Golden Eaglets team : never say die attitude.
Not once but in 2 games have they come from behind to snatch victory right from the very Jaws of defeat – really impressive.
Faced with oppositions which everyone could see were more better than them, Garba’s boy were simply determined to overcome; overcome Hungary on opening day, overcome Ecuador yesterday. And (again) both teams looked both tactically and technically superior.
If they continue like this, these boys are destined for greatness. Greatness does not necessarily mean they must win the tournament – no.
Greatness means they should be able to go as far as their abilities allow in this tournament and as far as hard work, focus and concentration allow them individually after this tournament is long over.
It might not be evident but there are future national team materials in the squad.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it is still early days. The squad itself is riddled with shortcomings.
The midfield appears tensed and too quick to release the ball (a bit of calmness will serve them well).
Yes, individual brilliance has produced individual moments of magic if Under-17 football but these players’ decision to go alone were often ill-timed, ill-advised, with poor outcomes.
Overzealous tackles, mad rush for the ball, too much eagerness for a peice of the action, predictable attempts at interceptions by defenders are all factors that distort the shape of this Golden Eaglets team thereby rubbing it of balance.
Better organised teams lie in wait, ready to exploit these weaknesses if Manu Garba does not act first!
These boys are good. Attack attack attack is good. But, against technically and tactically fastidious opponents, they will need much more than that.
Those guys that plays like uganda national team.no direction just physical game. No team play nt even a gud number 10. Sambisa 11
@mercy the 2001 golden eaglets had players of real quality players like femi opabunmi,temile omonigho,Soga sambo…and the likes
Only opabunmi ,soga sambo and one of their defenders can remember his name now,made the step up not because they weren’t good but because our golden generation of 94/96 were at their peak and any of those players just impossible to dislodge at the point in time
I weep when I hear people talking about this team not tactical and technical compared to other teams. They have played against tactically and technically superior Hungary and we dominated them limiting them to a handful of shots on goal. We also played according to some a superior Ecuadorean team in terms of tactics and we outplayed them all through even tho they had a spell there when they were playing to d galery. Which teams in dis tournament are tactical and technical at u17 level. This is d opportunity to learn and develop. Which teams in dis tournament haven’t made high school mistakes? They are 17 for chrissake, all the people criticizing this team, abeg recall wen u were 17, were u anywhere as tactical or technical as any of these boys? We have genuine 17 yrs old representing Nigeria well and we are complaining. Yeah bring 20+ year olds playing in d league then u will see better techniques like our previous u17s. People saying this team is not talented, I remember people said d same tin about Amuneke’s team that it was littered with ibos, they won’t make it out of d group stages (since they came fourth af the u17 afcon), they said the coach was a fraud, and that the team lacked tactics and techniques compared to other countries. They were written off b4 playing a single ball but they went on and defeated all teams en route to becoming champions. The same people saying these team isn’t talented said so about amuneke’s team but are now saying dat team is very talented. in d afcon if my memory serves me correctly it was only osimen and nwakali that scored all the goals and a couple of them were penalties. That team was so insulted that if my kid was amongst them I would have asked him to reconsider playing. We have Tijani, Olusegun, Jabbar, Ojediran, Ikenna, Amoo, Said, Ubani etc and we say this team lacks talent. Other than nwakali, osimen, chukwueze how many people without googling it remembers 3 additional names on dat team. A coach dat did open screening and over 200 young boys came to try dia luck and d coach didnt take the right players, can anyone say that with 100% certainty? Some people say that some players like akande and ebiowe deserve a spot on this team or omidjidi or whatever his name is, if they are dat good they won’t even bother with Nigeria they will do d Tomori lol. Let them go play for England and Holland na. Don’t get me wrong every Nigerian should be given an opportunity to fight for a place on the team and I blif they were given dat opportunity and better players were selected. A country dat puts square pegs in round holes are complaining about lack of talents. These are academy players from Nigeria for crying out loud. All these boys were they born in Europe will make those countries team I can boldly say that. How are our academies run to be producing d neymar, messi, sterling of this world. Nigerian league has not been functioning for awhile now and we are expecting talents, academies in 9ja are understaffed and not financially stable but we keep producing players only for some to criticize these KIDS for not playing like Barcelona. These boys will keep defeating the so called tactically and technically talented team. My humble opinnion
I saw the matches and my assessment remains that the 2 other teams played with more semblance of tactical awareness and collective technical acuity in the way they dressed the ball, conduct their movements and orchestrated their play – compared to our boys.
Raw skills, desire, grit and determination saw our boys through. Plus, they are quite talented – this talent will shine through more if they stay focused, calm down and play with more shape and panache.
I have seen tactical play in Under 17 football and I have seen enough in this team to say that they have it in them to raise their game.
This indeed is the opportunity to develop and learn – as you say. Let’s hope Manu Garba has learnt crucial leassons from these 2 matches and will develop his boys to play with cohesion and rhythm in games to come.
Thanks Deo, this team is not lacking in talent at all imho. Many of d players just joined the team so we can’t expect them to play as a well oiled machine. Manu boosted the team by including new and better players based on his assessment of d players he had in his disposal. Yes d original team had been together for awhile but this 21 players haven’t as new players have been added. Against d more tactical teams we will still do very well and this team will go down fighting till d last minute. What does dominating d more tactical teams mean? That we are tactical as well. I still maintain that in order places d man Manu would be celebrated. Please Canada come and get Manu since 9ja no like better thing and Canada will be get past d 1st round at least lol
Manu Garba and Nduka Ugbade has not done their home work fine given them two good years to scout players still this present set of under 17 boys are not what Nigerians are known for watching their two games against Hungary and south Americans their midfield and defence was zero,is this what the Nff want for nigeria future football,the 2015 set of players is what Nigerians are enjoying today at the senior level any time Manu Garba handle this cadet team theirs always no future for nigeria teams nobody knows how he gets his players ,this present goal keeper is worse ,the 2015 goal keeper is the one Nigeria is using today at the senior level, Nigerians should wake up a great Nigeria future in sports starts from the root , only miracle can make this present under 17 lads get to the semifinals but they not a team yet .
People say they score late at games after tiring the opposition, if I may ask what does Barcelona, liverpool and Man city do to dia opponents they tire them out and kill dem off and dats exactly what d Nigerian team is doing. The reason why the boys started playing long balls was due to the fact that their short passes weren’t working, we were chasing d game, we have faster players and the Ecuadoreans were very disciplined knowing we like playing thru d middle so they congested the midfield so by playing d long balls to our faster forwards we could bypass dia midfield and unlock d defense. it was just unfortunate that they didnt work. If they had worked we would be saying we have new olisrh and mikel. Btw there is a boy called Joel China Fujita of Japan what a player. People whined wen Japan beat 9ja in a friendly, una see how Japan demolished the European champs in Netherland.
And yes, I believe you have a point when you said earlier that recent under 17 teams have not all become Superstars.
Of the 2015 set, only Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen (ONLY 2) are currently playing top flight football after 4 years.
The others are either still trying to find their feet or playing in lower/random leagues.
Of the 2013 set, apart from Francis Uzoho, many of the others are currently struggling. Some have been struggling for a long time – 6 years on!
So, I agree that it is poor judgement to write off this set at this early stage.
Thanks Proudlynaija, one thing that is totally undeniable in all you said was: “this team will go down fighting the last minute”.
I think we have seen enough in the last 2 games to suggest that this team does not have that word “defeat” in their dictionary.
A lot of us Nigerians can borrow a leaf from their book in our various walks of like…..
*in our various walks of life***
Some fans should stop their tribal bias towards our National teams. In the past, we had witnessed teams dominated by one section of the country and nobody complained about the coach or the players irrespective of the outcome.
Irrespective of the outcome of this tournament, current golden eaglet remains the youngest and most talented national team ever paraded by Nigeria.
The managers of the team, Manu & Ugbade are one of the best technical and attacking football handlers of SE.
These two great men have proved to other handlers that Naija is inferior to one. We don’t accept losing a game without a fight and we are not satisfied drawing a game we should have won.
*handlers of our national teams.
I must say that i am actually impressed at the way and manner these boys are displaying in brazil. They are actually playing matured football like 11 professional spanish La Liga players. Their touches are awesome and delightful to watch and their attacking instinct stuns me. These boys have had more shots than manchester united in thier last two games.
they are pressed upfront and immediately they lose the ball, the midfield is always intact to win it back and you see them at the back defending the ball. this is football made in africa. The only area garba boys should take into considerations are the inability to convert chances that comeby and the pass accuracy. During the ecuador game, there were lots of unnecessary long passes that didnt find the destinator. they have to work on their passes and finishing. other than that, the communication is awesome, the style of ticki-tacka is wonderful and their never give up(late come back) attitude is wonderful. these boys play attacking football to the last second of the game. we were expecting them to relent after said hattrick but no,they kept on pushing and pushing until the final whistle. i am marvelled to the brim at what these boys are doing. kudos to the team. U-17 World Cup is africa’s Heritage.
I surmise this team can do a lot better if they can improve in some areas..they must learn how to defend well and how to play creative football/technical discipline. Their speed/aggressive approach is wonderful. They have character and very good individual players that can blend together for super results.
I decided not to say a single word since yesterday simply because you guys are not seeing what I’m seeing.
Do not blame coach Garba and Ugbade but NFF.
I have said it after their first match against Hungary that the dictators have taken over our national teams. From Super Eagles to the lower level team Golden Eaglets.
There’s a lot of pressure mounted on coach Garba and Ugbade. If you think I’m lying, coach Dennerby issue should be an eye opener.
That is the main problem of African coaches. No dignity at all. Coach Garba and Ugbade would have stepped down before now to shows the bad people in charge of sports that they deserved respect.
Any day any time, that coach called Dennerby deserves a loud ovation for exposing NFF.
For me, when you have a fighting spirit with prayer and luck then, you beat your enemies straight down. That is what this year’s Golden Eaglets have.
The spirit that have missing in the Super Eagles for so long.
The 1994 Eagles has that spirited attitude and never say die Nigerians spirit but what we have nowadays, excuses every day. Hmm, it is well lol. God bless Nigeria!!!