‘Golden Eaglets won’t underrate Congo, Tanzania, others in Morocco’

Coach of the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, Fatai Amoo, has declared that his team would not underrate any team at the Africa U-17 AFCON holding in Rabat, Morocco from March 13 to 31. The Golden Eaglets will battle Tanzania, Algeria and Congo in Group B when hostilities begin in Morocco.

Amoo, who spoke with The Guardian yesterday, stated that there are no more minors in African football, adding that his team would approach all the matches with the seriousness it deserves. He noted that base on the high level of grassroots football development in Africa the Golden Eaglets need to step up their game to be able to maintain their pedigree at the U-17 championship.

Amoo revealed that the Golden Eaglets are currently undergoing series of training to enable the technical crew assemble a formidable squad for the battle of Morocco.

He said: “No team is a pushover in the African U-17 championship now. There is rapid development in cadet football in the continent, and this has given the Golden Eaglets a bigger challenge. We have to keep working hard to be the best in Africa. We will not underrate any team in the group. The Golden Eaglets will give their best so that we can qualify from the group. Anybody who is saying that the Golden Eaglets are in easy group does not understand the rate at which football is developing at the grassroots level in Africa. No team is small in the continent any more,” Amoo said.

The Golden Eaglets, who are presently camped in Abuja preparing for the championship, defeated Bayern Munich Academy in Nigeria during a friendly game on Thursday.

Twelve countries will attend Morocco 2021 U-17 AFCON.

In Group A, host Morocco, Uganda, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire will do battle, while Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and South Africa will slug it out in Group C.