Nigeria men’s U-20 coach Isah Ladan Bosso feels confident in his team’s chances of qualifying for the U-20 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.
The experienced tactician believes the Flying Eagles have a good chance of overcoming the Hippos of Uganda when both sides face eachother in the quarterfinals of the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The last four teams at the continental youth competition will book a spot in the World Cup as Africa’s representatives, and Bosso revealed he is confident his players can make Nigeria proud while not underrating the threats Uganda pose.
“Before we left our training camp in Morocco, the NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, told us clearly that the first objective should be getting a ticket to the FIFA World Cup. We are at that most important stage now and we cannot afford to falter,” he said.
“We are aware that Nigerians are looking up to us to deliver. While our mission remains bagging the World Cup ticket, we are also eyeing the trophy, which is still a number of matches away. For the moment, we have Uganda in our view and we are working hard to see that we control proceedings on Thursday.”
The seven-time winners, Nigeria, and Uganda will square off at the 22,000-capacity Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia at 6pm WAT on Thursday, March 2nd.
In the other quarterfinal matches, the Group A winners, the Young Teranga Lions of Senegal, will face the Young Cheetahs of Benin at the Cairo International Stadium at 3 pm on Thursday.
On Friday, The Gambia will take on debutants South Sudan, who finished in third place in Group B with four points, at the Haras El-Hedood Stadium in Alexandria at 3 pm, while the last quarterfinal match will be between Congo and Tunisia at the Cairo International Stadium on the same day at 6 pm.
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