The FIFA U-17 World Cup enters its crucial stages as the battle for places in the quarter finals begins today.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will battle with their Australian counterpart to secure a place in the knock-out rounds of the competition.
The game which is slated for the early hours of Thursday is expected to be an easy game for the Nigerians but coach Emmanuel Amunike has highlighted the fighting spirits of the Australians and stated that his team cannot afford to underrate them.
History favors Nigeria going into this one as the Golden Eaglets are yet to lose against Australia at this level in 5 previous meetings.
“We have to keep working hard and prepare our players physically and psychologically for the match against Australia especially after losing our last group match to Croatia.
We have to let the players realize that the stage we are in now is crucial and it needs high level of concentration from them. We would evaluate our players and see their state of mind but hopefully, all of them would be ready to play on Wednesday,” Amuneke assured.
The Golden Eaglets finished top of their group with six points courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen whose 4 goals see him topping the scores chart in the tournament.
No doubt coach Emmanuel Amunike would be looking to him Osimhen to carry the Eaglets with his goals as he looks to become only the third Nigerian to win the golden boot at this level.