GOLDEN Eaglets head coach Nduka Ugbade has told his players they cannot afford to miss chances against South Africa if they want to progress at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria.
The Nigerian lads missed a slew of opportunities against Morocco on Wednesday and were punished for it as they suffered their first defeat in the tournament.
They face South Africa tonight in Constantine (kick-off at 8pm Nigerian time) needing to avoid defeat in order to retain their second position in Group B and advance to the quarter-finals.
Looking back at their 1-0 defeat against Morocco which followed an opening win over Zambia, Ugbade said he and his assistants had made efforts in training to make the players more ruthless in front of goal.
“We have put the defeat against Morocco behind our backs and we are fully focused on getting a good result against South Africa,” the former FIFA U-17 World Cup winner as a player said during his pre-match press conference last night.
“We didn’t deserve to lose against Morocco because we dominated the game but couldn’t convert our chances.
“We want to be more effective, more prolific in front of goal. It is a bit confusing because when we were in Nigeria preparing, we were scoring so many goals but when we came here we are not doing that. Sometimes with these young ones it is about psychology and we have addressed that.”
Ugbade added that tonight’s encounter would be a tactical battle against the South Africans, who have a player with Nigerian player in their squad, Michael Dokunmu.
The Vitesse U-18s striker incidentally scored the winner in South Africa’s 3-2 victory over Zambia on Wednesday night and has expressed a desire to do well against the country of his father’s birth.
