Eko Hot Blog reports that The National U-17 men’s team, the Golden Eaglets, will kick off their WAFU B U-17 title defense in Ghana on Thursday against Burkina Faso, the team that halted their progress to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia last year.
Under the guidance of coach Nduka Ugbade during the 2022 WAFU B tournament, the Eaglets secured a 2-1 victory against Burkina Faso, clinching the title.
However, Burkina Faso turned the tables during the 2023 U-17 Nations Cup in Algeria, defeating Nigeria 2-1 in the quarter-finals and denying the five-time world champions a World Cup ticket.
Despite featuring a new generation of players on both teams, the existing history between them is likely to fuel a sense of revenge among the players.
Golden Eaglets vs Burkina Faso during their last encounter
As they embark on their journey towards the 2025 Nations Cup and the expanded 2025 World Cup in Qatar.
In March, the FIFA Council affirmed that the U-17 World Cup would expand to include 48 teams.
Also transition to an annual event, demonstrating the governing body’s unwavering dedication to youth football.
Now led by Manu Garba, the coach who guided the team to victory in the 2013 World Cup.
The Eaglets have successfully cleared the initial hurdle of the mandatory MRI test.
Garba radiates confidence in the team’s quality, having trimmed his squad due to previous failures in the same test before leaving Nigeria.
“We are happy about the results. Having the whole squad to prosecute the tournament somewhat puts our minds at rest,” Garba told NFF media.
“The players have been responding to training.
“The weather is similar to what we experienced in Abuja before our departure.
“Our primary objective is to get one of the two tickets from here to the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
“We will focus on the matches one at a time.
“For now, we are focused on our opening game against Burkina Faso on Thursday (today).”
As per the team’s media officer, Francis Achi, Simon Cletus, a player from the previous squad, has been appointed as the team captain.
The Eaglets will face Burkina Faso at the Ghana University Stadium in Accra at 4pm Nigerian time.
Following this, they will play against Niger Republic on Sunday at 7pm Nigerian time, and then Togo on Wednesday at 5pm Nigerian time.
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