Golden Eaglets coach Nduka Ugbade has affirmed that his team had no luck being paired in Group B of the forthcoming U17 AFCON tournament after the contingent landed safely in Algiers, before heading to Constantine.
Ugbade confirmed this to the media, while complimenting on the hospitality of the hosts after arrival.
“We landed in Algiers, and we had our MRI, and the hospitality of the people has been wonderful.”
The Nigeria Football Federation communications department announced the team’s arrival via their official Twitter handle, attaching a clip showing the coach speaking with the media team in Algeria, while expressing confidence in the team.
“We’ve been preparing for the past 10 months, and we did so good in Ghana. We did very well, coming first and winning the trophy.
“And like you know Nigeria has participated in World Cup on this level, and I was the first ever in the world to be the captain of Nigeria that won it for the first time in China 1985.
“And I assisted another coach to win again in Dubai 2013, and now I’m the Cheif Coach. So I expect that we’ve prepared very well to meet the demand of any team that comes against Nigeria.
The five times continental champions were grouped alongside Morocco, South Africa, and the Zambia U17 teams in Group B, with their first game against Zambia on Sunday 30th of April.
The pairing in Group B drew questions from the media on the team’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup by going the distance, but Nduka had his plans set in motion.
“Our aim like you know, the Cup of Nations is where you come, participate, and compete very hard at least to qualify for the World Cup and win the trophy if possible.
“This is not an easy group. Zambia is a very strong team so is South Africa, then Morocco, just like their senior national team has done so well especially in the world, and like the other teams in the competition like Senegal are all very good teams.
“Mali as well, and you know host nation Algeria are not a push overs as well, with players like Rabah Madjer in the past up till recently as well.
“Our group is hard, but we will try everything humanly possible to qualify further.
A semifinal reach will guarantee the five time world champions a spot for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled at the tail end of the year.
