Coach of the Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba, on Tuesday assured that his team would beat Cote d’ Voire in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers on Thursday, Sept 6.
Garba told the Newsmen in a telephone interview that the victory in the second group match was important to keep the hope of qualifying for the U-17 AFCON in Tanzania alive.
“God’s willing, we shall beat Cote d’ Voire to keep hope alive,” Garba said.
He said that the team must win the remaining two games having lost the first match to Burkina Faso.
The Golden Eaglets made an unimpressive start losing 3-2 to Burkina Faso at the Stade Municipal in Niger on Monday.
Within a space of six minutes after kickoff, Abdoul Komi and Jean Fiacre Kouame handed Burkina Faso a two-goal lead as Manu Garba’s boys were made to pay for their poor defending.
But the Eaglets equalised before the half-time break, thanks to Olakunle Olusegun’s brace. Mubarak Compaore scored the winning goal four minutes from full time.
Nigeria must win their last two games against Cote d’Ivoire and Benin Republic to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-final.
NAN
