Football fans in Calabar, Akure and Abuja on Tuesday jubilated after the Golden Eaglets thrashed Sweden 3-0 to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in the United Arab Emirate.
With the victory, Nigeria would meet Mexico on Nov. 8.
The Golden Eaglets whitewashed the defending champion Mexico in Group F opening match 6-1.
A cross section of fans, who spoke on the Eaglets victory, expressed optimism that Nigeria would lift the cup.
The Director-General, National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, attributed the Golden Eaglets feat at the UAE to hard-work.
Elegbeleye said in a telephone interview in Akure that the brilliant display of the youngsters had taken Nigerian football to a “new level’’.
He urged them to go all out in the finals by repeating their first round success over Mexico, saying that a lot of good things await them when they return.
Two Public Servants, Efe Awhinawhi and Cosmos Okwonu, said “Nigeria has what it takes to get to the top. I am very sure we are settling for nothing than the cup and we will bring the cup home’’.
Suleiman Idris, an Insurance broker, who said he was scared of Sweden because the 3-3 draw in preliminaries, described the Golden Eaglets Semi-final match as fantastic.
