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No Mistakes, Amuneke Charges Golden Eaglets

By Alex Monye
20 February 2015   |   7:35 pm
HEAD Coach of Nigeria’s U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, Emmanuel Amuneke, will be the happiest man Saturday should his wards put up a spirited performance to ensure qualification for a ticket to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile later this year.   Amuneke is best remembered for his brace in the 2-1 defeat of the Chipolopolo of Zambia in…

HEAD Coach of Nigeria’s U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, Emmanuel Amuneke, will be the happiest man Saturday should his wards put up a spirited performance to ensure qualification for a ticket to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile later this year.

  Amuneke is best remembered for his brace in the 2-1 defeat of the Chipolopolo of Zambia in the Final Match of the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. Though the setting today between the Golden Eaglets and the Junior Chipolopolo is different. The 1994 African

Footballer of the Year has said there would be no margin for errors.

  He was optimistic his boys would do everything to gain a semi final berth at Niger 2015. “Our expectations (against Zambia) is to win and secure our ticket for the World Cup in Chile,” former Barcelona winger said.

  “We have to psyche up ourselves and forget about the draw against Guinea, we have to be optimistic to play much better.”

 Amuneke was of the view that the Golden Eaglets could play much better since the decider against Zambia would be played on the artificial turf of Stade Municipal.

 “What we are doing is to lift their spirit and not being hard on them due to the last game and I want to believe they would be ready to play their usual normal game.”

  Two years ago in Morocco, the Eaglets had this same experience in their group game by failing to beat Cote d’Ivoire. Although the team, which was led then by coach Manu Garba, immediately raised their game and qualified for the final of the championship, but lost to the Ivoirians on penalty shootout. 

  This edition might be a different scenario because the Eaglets are contending against two West African teams yet to lose a game in the group stage of the tournament.

 

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