Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau has expressed his disappointment with the Flying Eagles’ performance against Burkina Faso.
Nigeria, who are the defending champions of the competition lost their first match against Burkina Faso.
The Flying Eagles need a win against the Young Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round.
Each group consists of three teams with Nigeria battling it out with Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, the Young Elephants defeated Burkina Faso 1-0.
With the Ivorians and the Burkinabes tied at the top of the table, Nigeria must win by two clear goals against the Ivorians to be sure of a place in the semi-finals.
President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau was disappointed with their performance, and he urged the team to go all out for a win against Cote d’Ivoire.
He said: “I am not happy about the result. We expected a win and three points, particularly as they are in a three-team group which can be delicate. However, I believe the coaches and the players will sit up and come up with a strategy to overcome the Ivorians.
“Nigerians are expecting so much from the team. As defending champions, it will not be good for us not to qualify for the U20 AFCON, having reached the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup last year.”
Similarly, Flying Eagles coach, Aliyu Zubairu opened up on the reason for the defeat against Burkina Faso and also stressed the importance of winning against Ivory Coast.
He said, “I think that we lost the match because we succumbed to the intimidation of the Burkinabes. When we watched their clips and analysed them together, we agreed that the only thing that can give them an advantage over us is their physical strength.
“During the match, we changed our tactics, wanting to match them with strength, which we don’t have, so they used their physical strength to gain an advantage over us.
“But all the same, we are going to forge ahead. We all know now that it’s either we beat Ivory Coast or nothing. If we want to proceed to the next level, we just have to beat Ivory Coast, even if by more than a goal, so that we can be well secured to get to the next level.”
Thursday’s encounter at the Municipal Stadium, Lome will commence at 4 pm Nigeria time.
You Must Defeat Cote d’Ivoire, NFF President Tells Flying Eagles is first published on The Whistler Newspaper