Flying Eagles’ captain, Daniel Bameyi, is confident that the team will come out with all they have to defeat Kenya in their last group match at the ongoing Africa U-20 AFCON in Egypt on Wednesday.
Bameyi, who was the Player of The Match in their last game – a goalless draw with Morocco – admitted that the Flying Eagles cannot afford to leave anything to chance as they chase a quarter-final ticket in what will also be Nigeria’s 100th game in the competition.
“No compromise. As I always tell my colleagues, there’s no joking here. Yes, it’s business, and we will come out with all we have for the next match because we want to top the group.
“We appreciate all Nigerians. Our fathers, our mothers, brothers and sisters. We thank them for the prayers, but it’s not over until it’s over. So, we ask that you keep praying for us and keep supporting us,” the 19-year-old Bameyi added.
After Sunday’s goalless draw against Morocco, Nigeria are second in the group, level with Morocco on four points but separated by goal difference, while Tunisia follow in third with three points, but could turn things around should they defeat the Moroccans in their simultaneous fixture this midweek.
“We believed that we would win the match, and we really wanted to. We needed to win because we wanted to get the qualification early. All the same, it was a good game, and we thank God for how it went,” the defender reflected on their goalless draw against Morocco.
After progressing from the group stage, the Flying Eagles’ target would be to be among the four semi-finalists that will pick the ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile later this year.
Nigeria have also won the U-20 AFCON seven times (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011, 2015) and were runners-up twice.
