Nigeria targets U-17 semi-final slot
Nigeria have got some progress recent days ranking 11th in edition of the 15 Feb, they next target is the U-17 semi-final slot and Chile 2015 qualification, which is really important to their teams. They were ready for the Niger 2015 and would get a good grade, claimed their Coach Emmanuel Amunike.
The Super Eaglets have won FIFA’s junior tournament four times (1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013) and want to be at Chile 2015 to defend the title they last won at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2013.
“Firstly, we are privileged to be here and are grateful for this opportunity. Our objective of coming here is to go to Chile and hopefully we will do our best to achieve that but in football, you cannot predict anything. But we must be optimistic and focused and know what we have to do on the field of play,” Coach Amunike told UTfifa15coins.com.
“To go to the World Cup, we have to work hard. We must know how to play with the ball and without the ball and if players understand this and interpret it on the field of play, we will be looking forward to Chile,” the ex-Super Eagles star and 1994 Nations Cup winner added.
He asserted that all eight finalists were capable of attaining good results and cautioned against taking any team lightly.
“All the teams here deserve respect and every team’s objective is to go to Chile. So we have to work hard as everyone will do and hopefully, Africa will have the best teams to represent us in Chile,” Amunike said, noting that with the high temperatures in Niamey at this time of the year, his squad “was well conditioned” in Sokoto (northwest Nigeria) which has similar weather conditions as well as their early arrival in the Nigerien capital.
The Super Eaglets face the hosts Niger in the Group A and tournament opener before other fixtures against Guinea and debutants Zambia.
The FIFA Under-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA Under-16 World Championship, later changed to the FIFA Under-17 World Championship and known by its current name since 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by FIFA.
Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament’s history, with four titles and three runner ups. Brazil is the second most successful with three titles and 2 runner ups. Ghana and Mexico have won the tournament twice.
A corresponding tournament for female players, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, began in 2008, with North Korea winning the inaugural tournament.