CAN U-17 Championship: World Cup Ticket Beckons on Eaglets

*Ready for Junior Elephants today*

 Golden Eaglets go into Wednesday's second West African derby against the Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire at the on-going CAF Under-17 Championships in Morocco with a place at the FIFA World Cup in UAE later in the year on their minds. A win automatically guarantees the Eaglets passage to the global stage.

Nigeria leads group B of the tournament after beating Ghana 6-1 win on Sunday while both Cote d’Ivoire and Congo cancelled themselves out in a 1-1 draw.

Mathematically, Nigeria would be through to the World Cup with a win against Cote d’Ivoire irrespective of the outcome of their last game against Congo on Saturday since they can either come first or second in the final analysis. All the semi-finalists automatically qualify for the World Cup because of the four slots allotted to Africa at the global cadet competition that Nigeria has won three times.

Speaking ahead of the game, Head Coach of the Eaglets, Manu Garba, reiterated the objective of the team.

“We are happy that we won our first game against Ghana but winning the second game against Cote d’Ivoire is very important because it would take us to the World Cup.

“I saw a bit of their match against Congo and the Ivoriens are not a bad side though they are physical but we know how to handle such a team,” observed the coach Tuesday night.

Garba said he has high hope about his wards delivering the goods having prepared well before the tournament, adding that they are battle-hardened already.

“We have prepared well for this championship,” he said matter-of-factly. “We have not lost a match since we assembled this team and we are certainly not ready to lose now.

“My confidence is reinforced in their ability against any team following how they handled a big team such as Al Sadd of Doha, a team that had won the Asian Champions League in the past complete with a great player like Raul Gonzalez,” he noted.

However, the tournament leading goal scorer, Isaac Success who grabbed a remarkable four goals against the Black Starlets, has equally promised to score more goals to ensure the team’s passage to the World Cup.

“I have not set any personal target at this tournament but what is important is for us to beat Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday,” said Success who has been nicknamed Nasarah (which translates to success in an Arabic and Hausa) by Coach Garba.

He added: “Of course, I will score by the grace of God if I get the opportunity but I can’t predict the score line against Cote d’Ivoire. What is important to us as a team is the maximum three points.” he expressed.

Meanwhile, Media Officer of the team, Morakinyo Abodunrin has confirmed that the Golden Eaglets will for the second time at the 2013 Morocco be wearing green jerseys against the orange-shirted Junior Elephants.

The land was truly green for the Nigerian youngsters on Sunday when they thrashed Black Starlets 6-1 and it’s no secret that the lads enjoy playing in this traditional home colour.

Though they are designated as the away team this time, they would enjoy the privilege of wearing the green colours since it’s in sharp contrast with the Ivorians that would be wearing their orange jerseys.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has picked 30-year-old Mozambican referee, Samuel Chirindza, to be at the centre when the match kicks off at 4pm Nigerian time.  The Mozambican was enlisted as an international referee by the world’s soccer ruling body, FIFA in 2010.

He is to be assisted by compatriot, Arsénio Marengula who is also 30 years old. The second assistant and fourth official are Bienvenu Dina   and Rainhold Shikongo who are from Benin and Namibia respectively. The match commissioner is Manuel Dende from Sao Tome.