Ugbade said that though his boys failed to qualify for the World Cup following the defeat to Burkina Faso, they gave their all
By Kehinde Okeowo
Golden Eaglets head coach, Nduka Ugbade has said he is happy with the performance of his players despite their defeat to Burkina Faso on Thursday night.
The Nigerian boys were eliminated from the ongoing U17 AFCON tournament in Algeria, following a 2-1 loss to the Young Stallions.
The loss also meant the Golden Eaglets who were on a quest of winning a third title at the competition and a 13th appearance at the FIFA U17 have now failed to qualify for the World Cup.
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Ugbade’s boys, who were the favourites to win, started the game strongly, hitting the woodwork twice but soon fizzled out allowing the Burkinabes to take total control.
Aboubakar Camara was the star of the game as he scored both goals for the Junior Stallions while Abubakar Abdullahi netted the consolation for Nigeria.
Speaking after the thrilling encounter, Ugbade expressed his happiness at the performance of the players, while adding that Nigeria will gain a lot by developing them.
“I am happy with the performance of our players,” he said moments after the game per CAF Online.
“In such competitions, even if you lose, you gain something by developing the players for the future.”
The former Super Eagles defender went on to say his players are disappointed with their shocking exit from the competition, but that they would grow to become senior team players in the future.
“The players are disappointed of course because they are young but we must support them because they need to continue their careers.
“We should work on their development because I believe that some of these players will eventually move to the senior national team,” the tactician also added.