Adewale Quadri, member of the Nigeria U-17 team who participated in the just concluded World Cup qualifying games has bemoaned the team’s early AFCON exit amidst failure to secure a World Cup ticket following the quarter final loss against Burkina Faso.
The quarter final 2-1 win for Burkina Faso against Nigeria now means that they will be going to the U-17 World Cup games as well as progressing into semi final stages in the U-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“Firstly, I want to thank the Coach Uduka Ugbade for giving me the opportunity to go with the team, it’s really painful for us to bear, we had the World Cup in mind but unfortunately, we lost the game that could have gotten us the ticket,” Quadri shared in an exclusive interview with Sports247.ng shortly after his return.
“We are not happy but we have tried because most of us are young without experience but the coach and his technical crew believed in us but then we let them down, we will get our heads up high again.”
On his reaction after the information that he was included in the list – “It was surreal, I was so excited because for me to make the list is something that boils down to hardwork and dedication.”
Featuring only in the latter stages of Nigeria’s loss against Morroco in the second group game, Quadri admitted that he wanted to get in so bad and when he got the chance, he took it well.
“The coach gave everyone an ample opportunity to showcase themselves in the competition and he has shown in recent times that he’s indeed a technically sound tactician,” he concluded.
