The leadership of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has warned the national Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles, against underrating their Tanzania counterparts in today’s 2015 African Youth Championship (AYC) second round, first leg qualifier.
Chairman of the technical committee of the NFF, Chris Green, said the match should not be taken lightly, as victory for Nigeria will make the return leg easier.
“Every match is very important and so the team should not toy with the match. It should be taken with all seriousness, to make the return leg easier,” he said.
The match will be played at the 60,000-capacity National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, which has a natural grass pitch.
Kick-off time is 4pm local time, which is 2pm Nigerian time (Tanzania is two hours ahead of Nigeria).
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) in an official correspondence dated May 6 and signed by its General Secretary, Mwesigwa Selestine, has apologised to the NFF for shifting the game by a day due to reasons beyond their control.
The NFF, before now, have been kept in the dark about the match details.
Tanzania eliminated neighbours, Kenya, on penalties to reach the second round, while six-time African champions, Nigeria, drew bye into the second round.
Manu Garba, Flying Eagles, Coach
Meanwhile, Flying Eagles Coach, Manu Garba, has assured Nigerians that the team is ready to fly the country’s flag very high in the qualifier in Tanzania.
“We are fully ready for this match,” Manu said after his team’s intensive training session at the National Stadium in Lagos Tuesday morning.
“We respect our opponents, but we want to win in Tanzania; so that the second leg in Nigeria will be a mere formality.
“We have very good information about Tanzania after the NFF sent an official to spy on them last month.
“They like to play football and have a good recovery rate, but we will be equal to the task.
“We are a Nigerian team and so we have the character to withstand any situation,” he said.
Last month, the Flying Eagles played two test matches in Morocco, which it drew, and played against local clubs in Abuja ahead of this qualifier. Kelechi Iheanacho is one of the players Garba will be banking on in this qualifier.
