Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Yusuf (Fresh) has heaped praises on the under-17 national team, Golden Eaglets for what he called a gallant outing at the UEFA ‘Assist’ cadet football invitational tournament in Turkey.
Although the Eaglets lost their first match of the competition against Senegal, ‘Fresh’ said he was happy to see the squad recover to win their next two games, which sports247.ng gathered made him feel very proud as the team’s head of delegation.
‘Fresh’ stressed that it was a profitable and revealing competition for the Eaglets in Antalya, as the competition was organised for the eight participating teams that have qualified for the 2019 African U17 Cup of Nations in Tanzania.
During the week-long contest, which also had four European countries in attendance, the Eaglets, who are reigning WAFU B U17 champs, started their campaign with a 2-0 loss to Senegal in their first group match.
However, Manu Garba’s wards put that loss behind them and defeated Montenegro 4-2 in their second group game at Antalya Stadium.
On Saturday, the two-time AFCON U17 champions and five-time FIFA U17 World Cup winners put up another impressive performance to beat Angola 3-1 in their third group match.
Fresh said: “I’m impressed with Golden Eaglets performance in Turkey. Loads of lessons for the team and we hope they continue to get better every day.
“I’m very impressed with the attitude of the boys after the unimpressive display against Senegal in the first match.
“They were quick to identify the problem and alleviate the shortcomings in the second and third matches.
“They have imbibed the spirit of ‘resiliency’ as a team. The results are evident and good enough to prepare them ahead of the 2019 AFCON U17 in Tanzania next month.
“I’m confident this tournament has given them the best of preparation and they will excel with the positives garnered from Turkey.
“I’m urging them to remain resolute as they battle for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup ticket in Tanzania which is upon them.
“The NFF and the technical committee have fulfilled the promise to give all our national teams the best preparations.”
