Don’t put pressure on Golden Eaglets, Nwosu tells Nigerians

Former coach of the Golden Eaglets, Henry Nwosu, has advised the nation not to place too much hope on the boys in this year’s FIFA U-17 tournament holding in Brazil.

Nwosu said the essence of the competition was to discover players for the future.

The five-time World champions will meet Hungary in Group B fixture of the competition.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Henry said the emphasis on the youth championship was to give players the room to show to the world what they can do with the leather so that those noticeable talents can be nurtured to become better players in the future.

“That was my problem with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) when I was in charge as coach of Eaglets. I told the NFF that this team was not assembled to win at all costs. That it was to develop younger players and not over-aged players so that in the next 15 years they are still into football.

“Age group competitions are for developmental activities. Let’s just go there and play because it is an opportunity to showcase what the boys can offer to the world in terms of talents. Let’s not go there with the mentality that we are going to win the Cup,” he said, adding that if the country was able to discover about six players in Brazil, the nation will is making progress.

“By the time those discovered go Europe, they can learn and become better players. In Europe they will be trained on the rudiment of the game so that in the next three to four years, they can become stars in their own right,” Nwosu stated.

Meanwhile, former Super Eagles assistant coach, Joe Erico, has charged the players to go for victory in today’s opening group game against Hungary.

Erico stated that the encounter would be tough, owing to the fact that Hungary has a well-structured youth development programme that is aimed at churning out talented young footballers.

He called on the Golden Eaglets coaches to guide the boys from being distracted by football scouts who want to take advantage of the competition.

Erico also called on the NFF to give the team the best of support.