NIGERIA’s Golden Eaglets will aim to book a spot in the quarter-final of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when they take on South Africa.
Coach Nduka Ugbade’s side were heartbroken following a 0-1 loss to Morocco in their second Group B game on Wednesday.
While they dominated proceedings in the encounter and missed a couple of chances, an early own goal sealed their fate for the day.
“We controlled the game but tactically Morocco controlled the outcome,” the coach said. “We had some few mistakes as well but we created so many chances, and the only problem is that we couldn’t score.”
Now second on the log with three points, the Nigerians take on South Africa’s Amajimbos in their last group game on Saturday. Their opponents are on the same level but trail them on an inferior goal difference.
While a draw would be enough for the West Africans to hoist their flag in the next round of games, Ugbade wants his team to be ruthless.
Ahead of the tie, he said: “We are prepared for this,” he said in a pre-match conference on Friday, adding that “we have a chance” against the South Africans.
To do that, he wants the Golden Eaglets to be more ruthless, saying dominating and losing against Morocco “is not a strange thing, but it is important to correct and ensure we are more efficient in front of goal”.
On the other hand, South Africa also need to avoid defeat to make the next stage of the competition. Even with a defeat, just like Nigeria, they could make it to the quarter-final as one of the best losers.
They are on three points having lost and won one of their games.
