Nigeria U-20 defender Abel Ogwuche said their target at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations has changed from qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup to winning the title in Egypt.
Ogwuche played a notable role with his man-of-the-match performance in the Flying Eagles’ progress to the semi-final with a 1-0 win over Uganda on Thursday.
Ibrahim Juma’s own goal in the 30th minute was enough to secure victory for Ladan Bosso’s boys in a keenly-contested encounter at the Suez Canal Stadium.
“It is a great feeling to win and it was our dream from the start of the tournament to get the World Cup ticket and now we’re looking forward to taking the trophy home,” Ogwuche told CAF website.
“We just wanted to come and win. That was our motivation today, to secure the World Cup ticket and we made it.
“We had to secure our place in the World Cup. That’s why we all put in a strong performance to win.”
Nigeria are the most successful nation in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations with seven titles, and their last triumph was in 2015.
They will face the winner of the game between South Sudan and Gambia in the U20 AFCON semi-final, before preparing for their 12th appearance at the U-20 World Cup later in the year in Indonesia.
