WAFU U17
Garba says Eaglets will get better, ahead of clash with Baby Stallions
Less than 24 hours to the clash between Golden Eaglets of Nigeria and Baby Stallions of Burkina Faso at the on- going WAFU B U17 Championship in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’ Ivoire, Head Coach Manu Garba says he is optimistic that the five- time world champions will post another favourable outing.
The Garba-tutored Eaglets were in terrific form in scoring four goals within 35 minutes into the game to rout the Baby Cheetahs of Benin Republic 4-1 on Wednesday, and the highly experienced gaffter has said that his team, just like every other team in the tournament, wants to win every match.
“Every team wants to win every match in a competitive tournament, and so does Nigeria. We want to try as much as possible to win every match in this competition and by winning every match, we will be champions of the WAFU-B again because that is where my team belongs,” Garba said during Friday’s press conference, ahead of the game on Saturday.
“We are here to play every match according to the laws of the game, but most importantly, we want to try as much as possible to win the match against Burkina Faso,” he added.
He praised the efforts of his young players against Benin Republic, noting that none of the players was in the last edition of the tournament in Ghana. “My boys did very well against the Benin Republic. I did say that, that was their first international game. Most of these boys have never entered an airplane before coming to Ghana here. This is a new team. None of these boys featured the last time we played in the WAFU B U17 Championship in Ghana.
“As the tournament progresses, they will get better. In our last game, against the Beninoise, my captain was elbowed in the chest, so I had to bring him out. He has fully recovered now. I’m very optimistic that this team will get better,” he concluded.
The game is slated for 4pm Nigeria time at the Stade Lycee Scientifique in Yamoussoukro.
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Five-time world champions, Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, will launch their campaign for another continental crown when they square up against Benin Republic on Wednesday at the Stade du Lycee Scientifique in Yamoussoukro.
The encounter marks Nigeria’s opening game in the ongoing WAFU-B U17 Championship, which serves as the qualifying tournament for next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations. That continental showpiece will in turn determine Africa’s representatives at the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
The tournament kicked off at the weekend with Group A fixtures, where hosts Cote d’Ivoire overpowered Niger Republic 2-0, while Togo and Ghana settled for a 1-1 draw.
In Group B action on Sunday, Burkina Faso’s Baby Stallions struggled to a narrow 1-0 win over Benin Republic, who will now look to bounce back against Nigeria.
The Golden Eaglets, with a storied history in youth football, are widely tipped as favourites, but must navigate tricky tests against Benin and Burkina Faso in their three-team group.
Nigeria will hope to draw from their pedigree as the most successful nation in FIFA U17 World Cup history as they begin another journey in Yamoussoukro.
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The U17 Boys National Team, Golden Eaglets, will on Wednesday depart the country for the city of Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire where they will participate in this year’s WAFU-B U17 Boys Tournament.
In their final friendly game before the tournament, the Eaglets drew 0-0 with Mop Stars FC on Monday. The team played a total of 13 friendly matches while in camp, winning 10, drawing two and losing only one. They scored 25 goals and conceded five.
The five-time world champions will begin their campaign in the tournament against Baby Cheetahs of Benin Republic on Wednesday, 24th September, before taking on Burkina Faso in Group B. Group A has hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Ghana and Togo.
Matches will be played at the Stade du Lycée Scientifique in Yamoussoukro, which has a natural turf and was constructed for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
GOLDEN EAGLES FOR WAFU-B U17 BOYS TOURNAMENT
Goalkeepers: Aquila Ahur (Mailantarki FC); Great Edafe (Beyond Limits); Paul Awelewa (Morak FC)
Defenders: Abdullateef Lasisi (La Planet); Mubarak Rasheed (RFO FC); Sadiq Salihu (Niger Tornadoes); Godwin Menyaga (Adoration FC); Abdulsamad Salisu (Central FC); Emmanuel Asika (Mailantarki FC)
Midfielders: Paul Ugwu (RBM FC); Famous Umole (Derby FC); David Edeh (Adoration FC); Umar Yahaya (Footwork FC); Ahmed Yusuf (One-Touch FC)
Forwards: Wisdom Innocent (Wonderland FC); George Agha (Unique & Fine FC); Boluwatife Thompson (Breeders FC); Emeka Nnalue (Collins FC); Salim Umar (Dante FC); Auwal Muhammad (36 Lions)
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Hosts Ghana lifted the inaugural WAFU B U17 Girls’ Cup on Sunday, but only after a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat of resilient Nigeria at the Ghanaian Centre of Excellence in Prampram, outside Accra.
Minutes after both countries’s senior home-based professionals could not find the net in an African Nations Championship qualifier scores of kilometres away at the Accra Sports Stadium, the girls were buoyant in a four-goal thriller that led to a penalty shootout, which the Maidens won after scoring all five of their spot kicks while Nigeria fluffed one of their own.
Getrude Amoafo put the hosts in front in the 14th minute, and then the irrepressible Priscilla Mensah doubled the advantage five minutes later. It appeared the Maidens would coast to an easy victory, but the Nigerian girls had other ideas.
Precious Oscar halved the deficit in the 34th minute, with a powerful volley right inside the Ghanaian vital area, and Harmony Chidi restored parity in the 78th minute with a long-range strike that flew above goalkeeper Aishatu Fatai.
Defender Taiwo Adegoke handed the advantage to the hosts in the shootout, when she struck the woodwork from six yards, but the Flamingos certainly gave a good account of themselves in a tournament in which they scored 16 goals in four matches, conceding only four.
Benin Republic took the bronze medals with another penalty shootout defeat of Cote d’Ivoire in the third-place match played earlier in the day.
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