The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria progressed to the quarter-final of the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after edging past South Africa 3-2 in their final Group B game on Saturday.
They finished second behind Morocco by virtue of head-to-head and will now take on Burkina Faso on Thursday for a chance to make it to the semi-finals and book their place at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The performance of Nduka Ugbade’s boys offered a lot of noteworthy moments and Afrosport gives five takeaways from their group phase outing.
1. Age cheating claims take a back seat
While the Golden Eaglets have been successful down the years evidenced by their record of five FIFA U-17 World Cup titles, the team has constantly raised eyebrows with allegations of fielding overaged players.
Though the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan has helped detect age falsification, it is not a perfect system.
For arguably the first time, the Golden Eaglets are composed of young players, many still in secondary school. Such is a welcome development as it is not only a sign of integrity within Nigerian football but also a sign that these players have long careers ahead of them.
2. More exciting young talents
Youth grade tournaments offer a chance to see stars and prospects that will go on to make a name for themselves and the country as they develop.
Nigeria has been blessed with names such as Mutiu Adepoju, Victor Ikpeba, Mikel John Obi, Kelechi Iheancho, Victor Osimhen among many others down the years.
From the current squad in Algeria, we have been able to see exciting names such as Charles Agada, Light Eke, Abubakar Abdullahi, Hope Linus and Yahaya Lawali. These players have shown a lot of quality and it is only a sign the country will continue to produce talent that will make the country proud.
3. Ugbade is the ideal coach
Nigeria’s youth grade national teams have had various coaches down the years but none has been specifically dedicated to youth. Ugbade is one that ticks the box as a youth coach.
Though he has managed the senior team of Remo Stars and the defunct MFM FC, both clubs are famously known for developing young talents who go on to feature for the first team and are sold off to bigger clubs either within Nigeria or abroad for more money.
Ugbade made his mark at these clubs, particularly Remo Stars. He was the mastermind of their maiden promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League in 2017 with the Ikenne-based outfit’s youth structure growing even further.
Ugbade is the kind of coach that should be employed across other youth grade categories. Such will help in making youth football stronger and more vibrant.
4. Lots of room for improvement
While the Golden Eaglets have shown a lot of promise during the U-17 AFCON with their progressive and slick style of play under Ugbade, there is still a lot of room for improvement from the team.
The team are prone to making errors in defence and often wasteful in front of goal as seen against Morocco and South Africa.
However, these kinds of things are expected as the players are not professionals yet and still developing their craft. Hopefully, the Eaglets improve on their flaws as the tournament progresses.
5. A call for patience
Whenever any Nigerian national team plays in any competition, there are high expectations on the shoulders of the team to win the tournament. The Golden Eaglets are joint-record holders for most U-17 AFCON titles and the outright record holders for most U-17 World Cup titles hence it is not hard to see why.
However, considering the current crop of players in Algeria are genuinely young, there is a need for a little bit of patience with them.
Putting them under pressure might do them no good as this is their first exposure to international football for them. With time and the right kind of coaching, the players will become more efficient.
Watch all the quarter-final games of the U-17 AFCON LIVE on AFROSPORT TV across Nigeria, channel 730 on Free TV and stream online via Vidivu TV.
