Former Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba is confident that the Nigeria U20 team can still make it to the semi-final of the ongoing CAF U20 African Nations Cup in Egypt.
Manu who was part of the coaching crew that won the tournament in 2015 in Senegal admitted that losing the first match dealt a big blow on their 8th title pursuit but believe Ladan Bosso team has the capacity to turn things around.
“The Flying Eagles can still qualify from the group despite slim loss to Senegal in first match.” The FIFA U17 World Cup winner said.
He added, “All they needed to do is to beat the host Egypt with any goal margin and also defeat Mozambique in their last group game to qualify for the knockout stage. In fact, they can still qualify with four points. That means, they can win one and draw one on their next two matches.
“It’s very important for a team to win the first match in an international competition like this or at least get a draw. But all hope is not lost because I believe they can still come back stronger.
“They had decent preparations winning all their friendly matches including beating Zambia U20 Team before the commencement of the tournament. Sometimes, football in not predictable.
“They just need to be more composed in their next match to be able to win and focus on their last match against Mozambique. ”
The seven times African champions was on Sunday defeated 0-1 by Senegal in their group A first match. Nigeria will trade tackles with the host Egypt on Tuesday.
