Nigeria’s Eaglets last Saturday, played against the Angolan team for the position of third-place in the ongoing 13th Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Tanzania but unfortunately the Eaglets lost the match to Angola in that Angola scored two goals and Nigeria’s Eaglets scored just one.
This must have come to present quite a shock to the technical crew of the Eaglet team as they have won the championship five times, it definitely will not make any sense how the team’s ability to create chances and score goals in the competition was at a steady deteriorating level. Throughout the competition, it seemed as though the Eaglets were just barely making it through. They managed to beat Tanzania when they competed, beat Angola the first time around by scoring a goal (one which many would not argue was a lucky shot). Next they ended with a draw when they played Uganda, lost to Guinea in after only managing to make it to penalty shoot, and finally they lost their chance at making the bronze medal in the last game on Saturday.
Believe it or not, it is not a good position from where the Eaglets stand and they would be quite devastated as they have not been able to deliver considering the fact that they have brought the championship home to Nigeria five times in the past. The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has already been receiving less and less support and the confidence of the Nigerian masses in its football teams have dropped to an all-time low. Truth has to be said, the Eaglets have not succeeded in boosting the confidence in Nigerian football.
After watching the game, it may not come as an entire surprise that the Eaglets were going to lose the game. Counting all the opportunities to convert into a goal (there were many of them) that they lost, the only way they would have won is through a miracle. The Eaglets did well to create a myriad of chances to score, an added bonus was the fact that the opposing team was playing with one less man than they were after Porfirio Abrantes was given another yellow card.
Cameroon and Guinea will contest today’s final in Dar es Salaam.
In other news, the final will be played between Cameroon and Guinea in Dar es Salaam. Also, Golden Eaglets, on their part have been able to solidify their position in the FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil.
