U-17 AFCON: Golden Eaglets Ready For Angola Test ; Target Semi-Final, World Cup Spots

Golden Eaglets assistant coach Jolomi Atume insists the team will go all out for a win against Angola in Wednesday’s Group A fixture at the 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations in Tanzania, reports Completesports.com.

The two – time champions opened their campaign with a 5-4 win against hosts Tanzania on Sunday at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam.

Angola also secured a hard fought 1-0 win against Uganda at the same venue.
A win for the Golden Eaglets will see them proceed to the semi-finals as well as the FIFA U -17 World Cup to be staged in Brazil later in the year.

“We understand that we need to win this game to qualify not only to the semifinal, but also to the FIFA U-17 World Cup. It is a very important match for us and for our opponents too. To be honest this will be an open game for both teams,”Atume stated during his interaction with the media on Tuesday.

“Angola is a good team. They play well and they are good on the offensive. We know that our defense made several mistakes in the opening fixture against Tanzania which saw us concede four goals, but we are working on to improve.

“This is a youth tournament so sometimes the boys want to express themselves and tactical discipline is low but we will play well.

Talented midfielder Andrian Akande also shared Atume ‘ s sentiment ahead of the crucial game.

“The game against Tanzania was tough, it was difficult to play against the home crowd but we managed to hold on to claim victory,”the Chelsea starlet stated.

“The game against Angola is more important for us because our ambition is to qualify to the FIFA U-17 World Cup and we need to win this game to achieve that. We are not under pressure; we are relaxed and are eager to do well.

By Adeboye Amosu