U-23 Eagles practice penalties ahead of semifinal clash with Germany

• Stay away from our camp, players beg Dalung

The Nigerian U-23 football team is leaving nothing to chance in their bid to qualify for the final of the event. The Nigerians, led by Coach Samson Siasia, will meet Germany tomorrow in one of the semifinals of the football event at the Corinthians Stadium, Sao Paulo.

Since they beat Denmark 2-0 last week to qualify for the semifinals, the team has been training twice daily, except yesterday when they trained only once with emphasis on movement with or without the ball.

The team also took some time to practice penalty shootouts, apparently getting ready for the lottery should the game end without a victor at the end of regulation.

Meanwhile, the players have pleaded with sports ministry officials to stay away from their camp to avoid distractions that could work against them when they meet Germany tomorrow.

The players told Nigerian journalists that they were yet to overcome the stress they were subjected to by the sports ministry, which distanced itself from them when they went to Atlanta, U.S. for preparation.

One of the players, who pleaded anonymity, said they were surprised by the utterances of the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, adding that it would be for the psychology if the minister stayed away from their camp until after the encounter.