By Amaechi Agbo
Nigeria’s Under 17 male team, Golden Eagles, yesterday returned to the country from Niger where they pick a ticket for the U17 African Cup of Nations championship to be hosted in Tanzania next year.
The team returned to Nigeria four days after they booked their ticket to the biennial event courtesy of 3-1 penalty win against perennial archrival, the Black Starlets of Ghana on Sunday.
The team led by Manu Garba returned yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile, assistant coach of the team, Nduka Ugbade, has disclosed that the players would embark on a break to rest after qualifying for the 2019 AFCON in Tanzania.
“They need a break off the pitch after the whole playoffs in Niamey, Niger Republic, during the qualifiers for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“Their bodies need to rest so as to avoid unpleasant situations,’’ he said.
The former captain of the 1985 Golden Eaglets that won the maiden U-17 trophy in China, said that once they had rested, then they would start to think about the preparation for Tanzania.
“The plan is to have a formidable team at the competition that can match any team. We still have a whole lot of work to do on the players.
“The lapses we observed at the qualifiers must all be worked on, they must also be ready emotionally, physiologically and some other situations that we will look into,’’ he was quoted.
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