Nigeria men’s U-20 coach Ladan Bosso has his sights solely on clinching the bronze medal of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as his side takes on Tunisia in the third-place match later today.
The Flying Eagles lost 1-0 in the semifinals to The Gambia on Monday night thanks to a first half strike from 18-year-old forward Adama Bojang.
“It was unfortunate we lost the semifinals and now we will play the third-place match,” Bosso told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “The third place is as good as the final. We believe if we get it right, we will take something home and I believe we can put smiles on the faces of football loving Nigerians.
“Nevertheless, it is always believed that second best is not good enough but we have to fight for third place,” he added.
Although the seven-time champions have secured a berth in the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia later this year as one of the four African contingents alongside the Young Scorpions of Gambia, Senegal, and the Young Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, Bosso expects his players to push for a podium finish.
“First of, the most important thing was the target given to us; to first qualify the team to the World Cup which we achieved,” Bosso said. “We wanted to get something additional but fortunately we didn’t get it right.
“We had our mistakes but I understand the feelings of some sections of Nigerians will not be comfortable with it.
“We lost to The Gambia not that they were better than us because we should have sealed that game in the beginning.
“Nevertheless, the way we prepared for the Gambian team is the same way we will prepare for Tunisia with some adjustments to get the win,” he concluded.
The Flying Eagles will face Tunisia in the third-place match on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium at 3pm WAT.
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