Share this:

Moments after his side 3-1 victory over the Junior Chipolopolo of Zambia, Golden Eaglet’s Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke shares his feelings with the Team Media Officer (TMO) in the locker room. Excerpts….

Can you describe your feelings tonight?

I’m very happy; and grateful to God. I’m grateful to the players because they fought so hard today. The condition of the pitch also enabled us to express ourselves much better but we are grateful to God that we have qualified for the semi final also secure our ticket to the World Cup in Chile. We would enjoy the moment and focus on the next match but generally, I’m happy and grateful for being able to achieve our objective.

Who are you dedicating this victory over Zambia and qualification for the World Cup to?

How do I put this? But this victory is for Nigerians especially those who believed in what we are doing from the first day. We played a very good side today (against Zambia) but we are grateful that the boys played to instructions; and they realised how important was the match.

We continue to play for our next game which is the semi-final and whichever team we are meeting; we have to look at those who have few knocks and see how we can have them back for our next game.

Golden Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke

Everybody has been talking about the quality of the three goals your boys scored against Zambia; what is your opinion about this?

The goals are beautiful and how would I say this; if you look at the construction of the goals and the end result of the ball going inside the net.

The first goal was beautiful; the second goal is what we call in Spain spectacle; and you look at Victor’s second goal which was also spectacle. At the end of the day, you need this kind of goal to lift up the morale and spirit and I’m happy for them (players). All
what we need to do now is to remain focused.

How will you help these boys not to get carried away with the victory
they had over Zambia today?

We enjoy the moment and the moment we get back to our hotel, it is finished. The boys themselves have realized what we have been telling them and they have realized that to achieve in life, you must be humble and discipline. We would continue to talk to them because we are like fathers to them and we would continue to inspire them to build upon it.

Who was your best player on the pitch today?

I would say everybody. I don’t really pay attention to one particular player but if everybody can function and we all can carry out our duties, every player is important to us.

11th AJC: Golden Eaglets Chase Ticket Against Guinea…As CAF Picks Congolese Referee

It would be battle-royale as the two leading teams in Group A at Niger 2015, Nigeria and Guinea tango at the 30,00 capacity Stade Général Seyni Kountché (SGSK) on Wednesday .

There is so much to play for since a win for either side would guarantee a berth into the semi finals and a ticket for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile. Of course, there is the undercurrent since the Guineans would seek to avenge their twin loss to their Nigerian counterparts on the road to the last championship in Morocco following a 3-0 and 4-0 win in Calabar and Conakry respectively.

Golden Eaglets bench – Emmanuel Amuneke, Kabiru Baleria, Emeka Amadi

“I don’t want you to have the erroneous belief that we are the world champions as most commentators always say,” Coach Emmanuel Amuneke warned his wards against complacence ahead of the crucial encounter.

“Yes, Nigeria is the world champion at this level but we have to create our own history by winning something; the past is gone.” Amuneke who was an assistant coach the last time in Morocco, has every reason to be wary after the Golden Eaglets stumbled and lost 1-0 to Cote d’Ivoire in their second game despite a 6-1 massacre of Ghana earlier.

“We are not getting carried away after the victory against Niger because we know Guinea can be tricky after watching them against Zambia,” noted Amuneke.

He has also reminded the players about the task ahead, urging them to
be watchful of the crafty West Africans: “We came here with one objective: To qualify for the World Cup in Chile and after that we can begin to talk about other things. You can see that if you allow them, they can play but if you follow our instructions, we would all have reason to celebrate on Wednesday after the game.”

Already, the Nigerian camp has indentified gifted number 11-shirted Abddoulaye Jules Keita as the lynchpin in the Guinean line-up as well as Captain Mohammed Mary Kurume who holds forth in defence, not forgetting agile goalkeeper, Mousa Camara, who foiled Zambia repeatedly on Sunday.

11th CAF African U-17 Championship

CAF Picks Congolese Referee

The Golden Eaglets would for the second time at the 11th African U-17
Championship in Niger have the benefit of wearing the country’s home gear against Guinea on Wednesday.

The Eaglets began their campaign at Niger 2015 on Sunday against Niger in the traditional green jerseys and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has again approved same for the match against Guinea while the goalkeepers would wear complete blue colours. On the other hand, Guinean players would spot red shirt, yellow short and white socks.

Golden Eaglets

The match which will kick off at 4:00pm Nigerian time at the Stade Général Seyni Kountché (SGSK) would be handled by Ndala Jean-Jacques Ngambo from the Congo Democratic Republic. Ngambo, who was born in 1987, has been an international referee since 2013 and he has horned his skill in major African competitions including the CAF Champions League.

To serve as referee assistants are the duo of Arsénio Chadreque Marengula from Mozambique and Senegalese Serigne Cheikh Toure who was equally on duty on Sunday when Nigeria beat Niger. Lazard Tsiba Kamba from Congo is the fourth and reserved referee while Ngenzi Raul Gisanura would be the match commissioner.