Chief Coach of Golden Eaglets, the national Under-17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke, has charged his players to put in their best in the second round, first leg tie of the 2015 African U-17 championship qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Emmanuel Amuneke
The qualifier, earlier fixed for July 20, was moved today Sunday, July 27 by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following FIFA’s suspension of Nigeria.
With the stage set for the qualifier in Lubumbashi, before the team flew out on Monday for the qualifier, Amuneke appealed to the players not to disappoint the country.
He said: “We are in the right frame of mind and battle-ready for the encounter. My only appeal to the players is for them not to disappoint the country, but to put in their best in the encounter and come out victorious at the end of the day.
“They should not be carried away as defending champions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, but prove that the country is worthy of presenting a winning team at any competition.”
Similarly, two members of the 2013 African Nations Cup winning squad, Chidiebere Nwakali and Kelechi Iheanacho, have also appealed to the team to keep the flag flying and ensure qualification for the 2015 African U-17 championship to be hosted by Niger Republic.
Chidiebere Nwakali’s younger brother, Kelechi, who is the captain of the U-17 squad, urged the players to emulate their performance at the last U-17 World Cup.
The duo of Nwakali and Iheanacho wished the team all the best in their quest to do the nation proud and come home victorious.
Meanwhile, battle for the seven spots for Niger 2015 has got keener with some of the first leg matches of the second round already decided across the continent.
Unlike the first round, which saw only a handful of matches as a result of withdrawals by some teams, the second round will see 24 teams in contention for the six slots to join Ghana and Tunisia in the final round. South Sudan and Sierra Leone have withdrawn.
In some of the matches already played, the Serengeti Boys of Tanzania played a barren draw with the Amajimbos of South Africa in Dar Salem.
Uganda bashed Rwanda 4-0 in Kampala to keep its chances bright, while Mozambique defeated Angola 2-1 in Maputo, and Cameroun beat Burkina Faso 2-0 in Yaounde.
Republic of Benin narrowly beat Mali 1-0 in Port Novo, while Zambia beat Botswana also by a lone goal in Lusaka.
Senegal forced Togo to a goalless draw at the Municipal Stadium in Lome, and Ethiopia also held Gabon to a goalless draw in Addis Ababa. Guinea beat Morocco 1-0 in Conakry, and Egypt recorded the same margin against Congo.
Defending Africa’s champions, Baby Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, warned other teams of their intention not to let go the trophy with a 4-0 bashing of Libya at the Olympique Stadium in Tunis, the Tunisian capital.
The second leg matches will take place on the weekend of August 1 to 3, with the winners advancing to the final round.
The final tournament will be held from February 15 to March 1, 2015 in Niger, with the semifinalists qualifying to represent the continent at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled for Chile.