The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has urged Golden Eaglets to go all out and ensure that they defeat their Burkina Faso counterparts in Friday’s semi-final encounter of the ongoing WAFU U-17 championship taking place in Togo.
He urged the team to focus on the record already set by the country in U-17 football both at the world and continental levels.
The senate president noted that Nigeria had become a force to reckon with in football, especially at the U-17 level and that anything short of victory would stain the record already set.
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“Going by history, when you talk of the junior team football, Nigeria is one of the best in the world; there is no doubt we are going to defeat Burkina Faso and go ahead to lift the trophy.
“We have set a number of records in all categories of age-grade football – U-17, U-21 and U-23, so, that spirit is still with Nigerian players and this team will not be an exception.
“Let us forget about how the team qualified for the semi-finals. They played fantastic games but were unlucky to win against Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
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“I hope it will be a different approach against Burkina Faso,” Lawan said.
It will be recalled that the Golden Eaglets lost 0-1 to Cote d’Ivoire in their opening Group B match, courtesy of Charles Mezia’s 77th-minute strike. They played 1-1 with Ghana in their second encounter after they took the lead through Joseph Arumala.
The Fatai Amoo-tutored boys eventually qualified for the semi-finals after the Ivorian team whipped their Ghanaian counterparts 3-1 in the last group game played at the Stade Municipal, Lome.
The Eaglets must defeat Group A winners Burkina Faso if they are to play in the final, while Cote d’Ivoire must overcome the Niger Republic.
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