When the Golden Eaglets step out on Saturday at the Sharjah Stadium, Nigeria will be seeking to maintain the status it has now attained and fulfill raised hopes.
This will be by beating Uruguay for a place in Tuesday’s semi-finals at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE, where they can face either Honduras or Sweden.
Success against Uruguay in Saturday’s quarter-finals, and progress to the Nov. 8 final match in Abu Dhabi will maintain Nigeria’s status and also keep it as the competition’s most successful team.
The Nigerian under-17 male football team’s participation at the competition has raised many hopes, and no less important is the opportunity to pursue a fourth tournament title.
Nigeria has a rich pedigree in the tournament’s history since its inception in 1985, with title wins in 1985, 1993 and 2007 and runners-up positions in 1987, 2001 and 2009.
With this going into the competition, the Nigerian side has gone into this 15th edition showing a rich vein of form with three wins and one draw in four games so far.
They have, with 18 goals scored and five conceded, not let anyone down their performance and eventual qualification into the knockout stage.
Nigerian hopes were raised with the defeat of defending champions Mexico 6-1, while subsequent success have elevated the Eaglets’ profile to make the Uruguay clash appear a simple task.
But the South Americans might not be an easy nut to crack, having proven themselves worthy since the Oct. 17 tournament kick-off date with three wins and one draw like the Eaglets.
With Kelechi Iheanacho and Success Isaac, contributors of seven of the Eaglets’ goals, likely to be missing through injuries, Uruguay can be a hard prospect for the Nigerians.
Uruguay who are in their sixth finals appearance still have available their best strikers in Leandro Otormin and Franco Acosta, who have four goals each, and two-goal scorer Kevin Mendez.
However, with Taiwo Awoniyi, Chidiebere Nwakali, Musa Yahaya and Musa Mohammed available, they are likely to take advantage to steal the limelight too.
Looking ahead to the match, Nigeria’s assistant coach Nduka Ugbade who captained the Eaglets to their debut win in 1985 has assured that there would not be any complacency.
“We don’t want to be bothered with the tag of a favourite, and our philosophy remains the same: one game at a time.
“Our objective right from the start was to win our matches and we continue to be guided by that.
“It is only in pools and betting that you forecast matches but we are in for a serious business here.
“We won’t want to count the chicks before they hatch, and we are looking forward to every game with a winning mentality,’’ he said.
