The Nigeria U17 team will today take on Burkina Faso in the quarter final of the ongoing U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria, OGN reports.
It will be a repeat of the final of the WAFU B championship in Ghana, which Nigeria won 2-1 to emerge as the regional champions, but this game is much more than winning a trophy or a spot in the semi final, it is also what will decide their participation at the U17 World Cup in India.
The winner of today’s game will automatically qualify for the tournament and Nigeria who are five times record winners of the U17 World Cup will be hoping to do another. Here are five things they must do to win the game.
Avoid Falling Behind – The team came back twice from behind to beat South Africa in their final group game but this scenario is entirely different as it is the knock out round. Going behind will no doubt unsettle not just the team but the technical crew owing to the significance of the game. They have to first of all keep it tight at the back.
Early Goal – As much as the team should be set up to avoid conceding early, they should also have their eyes on scoring early. Burkina Faso will approach the game with some level of respect for Nigeria giving the Nduka Ugbade led team the chance to punish them very early in the game. They should aim to score early.
Play With Width – One aspect of the team we are yet to see is making effective use of their wingers and full back to stretch opponents. They have been more about playing short intricate passes in close areas. Going wide should be a thing today with the overlapping ability of Yahaya Lawali and Emmanuel Michael a weapon that they should use more often.
Be Clinical – It’s hard to remember any Nigerian team that has created this much chance in a tournament without burying them. Today should be an exception and they have to make sure every chance counts. Light Eke, Charles Agada and Abubakar Abdullahi need to do better in the box than they have done in previous games.
Stay Calm – As expected from players of their age. This team tends to be too much in a hurry to get going and most times it ends up in turning over possession.
Starting from Hope Linus who is usually the first man on the ball, the team needs to avoid playing over ambitious passes which could lead to a loss of the ball and a possible counter attack. It was from the same scenario that Sooth Africa scored their second goal in the team’s last game. It has to be avoided this time around but this is more on the coaches.
Mohammed Mowiz