Nigeria coach Ladan Bosso has stressed that there are no small teams in the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as he prepares to face The Gambia in one of the semi-finals.
The Flying Eagles secured their last four belt following a narrow 1-0 victory over the Hippos of Uganda in Ismailia’s Suez Canal Authority Stadium.
For a place in the final, they face The Baby Scorpions on Monday.
Speaking ahead of the Monday game on Sunday's press conference, head coach of the Flying Eagles, Ladan Bosso said:
“I’m happy to be back in Cairo once again after we played the last two matches in Ismailia.”
“Tomorrow we will face The Gambia who are a strong team and we respect them well but we will work to present a good level to win.
“We lost the first match and we have not lost any match since then.”
The Flying Eagles last won the tournament in 2015 in Senegal and Ladan Bosso wants to replicate that feat and secure their eighth continental crown.
“We will face a team that has not been defeated in the tournament,” Bosso added.
“The most important thing for us in the tournament is that we qualified for the World Cup. Now we will fight to win the title.
“There are no big or small teams in football because it’s only performance and result that counts.”
Also speaking during the press conference was defender Daniel Kolocho Bameyi who says Monday’s semi-final is very important to the team.
“The match is important for us and winning is very important. We want to win and take the trophy back to our country,” the Yumyum FC ace said
“We are not under any pressure, we enjoy every match and go into each match with new energy and motivation."
The game between Nigeria U20 and Gambia U20 will take place on Monday 6th March 2023 by 7pm local time at Cairo International Stadium.