Nigeria U-17 coach Nduka Ugbade has said his team is prepared and will give it their all when they face Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the U-17 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, on Thursday.
He said the match is very important to the Golden Eaglets because it is also a qualifier for the U-17 FIFA World Cup.
Ugbade stated this in a pre-match interview on Tuesday.
He said the group stage test against strong teams has prepared his team for the knockout stage.
Ugbade said: “We had an interesting match with South Africa, and it has prepared us well for further challenges in the competition.
“We learnt a lot playing Zambia, Morocco, and South Africa—all strong teams—in the group phase, and that was a good furnace for us to be a better squad. The quarterfinal matches will be very hard nuts to crack because that is the step that earns you the World Cup ticket.
“None of the four games will be easy. Our interest is Burkina Faso, and we are working hard towards achieving success. We have not come this far to drop out. My boys are focused hard on the World Cup ticket. After that, we can then focus on other objectives.”
